Kidako moray (Gymnothorax kidako) is a saltwater species recorded in Hong Kong, Taiwan. It is mainly found over reef, at depths of 2–350 m. The main season in Hong Kong, Taiwan runs all year.
Scientific name: Gymnothorax kidako · Water: Saltwater · Season: All year
Size: up to 91.5 cm
The kidako moray is a muraenid that lives in crevices and holes in shallow reefs, with records down to 350 m. It has a reputation worth knowing: it often snatches the catch from divers, so keep an eye on it underwater. It is a bottom-dwelling fish, present all year, and is eaten in some parts of Japan. Maximum about 91.5 cm standard length, with a fishing vulnerability of 63 out of 100 and slow population recovery. Medium priced.
This moray is diurnal — more active by day than by night, which runs against the general assumption that morays are nocturnal. It is piscivorous, taking fish as well as cephalopods such as octopus and squid. The body is brownish and the head, body and fins are scattered with snowflake-like white spots; a pattern of blotches runs the length of the body and continues onto the tail, though some of it fades towards the tail end, and the snout and chin carry yellow streaks. It is found across the western Pacific from Taiwan to Japan, inhabiting coral reefs and lagoons, hiding in rocky bottoms with its head sometimes left exposed. It does not attack humans unless provoked, but its threatening appearance means divers and snorkellers tend to fear it. The family Muraenidae holds about 200 species. In some areas it is taken in minor commercial fisheries.
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