Mediterranean Moray

Photo: frahome · CC BY-NC

Mediterranean morays are abundant in Basiluzzo's basalt rock crevices, where they coexist with cleaner shrimps that pick parasites from the morays' skin in mutually beneficial partnerships visible to divers who pause at the right ledges. These large eels can exceed 1.5 metres and are occasionally observed hunting cooperatively with groupers — a remarkable interspecies hunting strategy documented in the Mediterranean where the grouper signals with head-shaking gestures to the moray when prey is hidden in rock. Their high density at Basiluzzo reflects both the site's remoteness and the lack of fishing pressure that has allowed them to thrive.