Ribbon Eel

Photo: Tony Strazzari · CC BY-NC

Ribbon eels extend their electric blue and yellow heads from crevices throughout Cathedral Rock, their long tubular nostrils and elaborate leaflike nasal appendages giving them an otherworldly appearance. These moray eels are sequential protandrous hermaphrodites, beginning life as males before transitioning to female with a yellow coloration, making color a reliable indicator of sex. The sheltered passages of Cathedral Rock provide the stable burrow sites this species requires for extended residence.