Green moray eel

Photo: Carlos F Rodríguez · CC BY-NC

The green moray eel's vivid colour is actually a yellow mucus coating overlaying a brown base skin — mucus that may contain toxins acting as a defence against bacteria and parasites in the crevice habitats they favour. They are nocturnal hunters that use an extraordinary second set of pharyngeal jaws to grasp and pull prey into the throat, a mechanism unique among fish. At Blowing Rock, morays reach impressive size due to the abundance of reef fish in the surge channels.