SOFT-RAYED BONY FISHES TOI 



Painted Eel (Enchelynassa bleekeri) of the South Seas, the 

 Common Spotted Moray or Hamlet (Lycodontis moringa) from 

 the West Indies and Brazil, and the Green or Black Moray 

 (L. funebris) from the Pacific coast of tropical America. 



The Morays are nearly all coastal fishes, and are abundant 

 in the neighbourhood of coral reefs, where they are in the 

 habit of coiling themselves into crevices in the reef and of 

 striking out at their prey after the manner of snakes. They 

 are very voracious, and feed mainly upon other fishes, but 

 some forms, especially those with rounded molar-like teeth, 

 include crustaceans and other hard-shelled creatures in their 

 diet, and others eat squids and cuttlefishes. In some Morays 

 the jaws are so much curved and the mouth so crowded with 

 knife-like teeth that it can never be properly closed, but even 

 so there is little chance of the prey escaping, as the teeth are 

 adapted for holding as well as for cutting. Fishermen often 

 relate stories of unprovoked attacks by large Morays, some- 

 times resulting in nasty wounds. A live Moray has even 

 been known to drive men from a boat. When caught, they 

 cling tenaciously to life, but may be despatched by a blow on 

 the tail. According to Mr. Carrington, writing in the ' Zoolo- 

 gist ' for 1876, the Murry can be domesticated and is capable 

 of showing affection for its owner ! 



Little is known of the breeding habits of these eels, but, 

 like other members of the Order, they pass through a Lepto- 

 uphalus stage. 



As food they are not greatly esteemed, although eaten in 

 many parts of the world. The late Professor Jordan tells 

 us that the flesh is " rather agreeable in taste, but usually 

 oily and not readily digestible, less wholesome than that of 

 the true eels ". The Murry was a very great favourite with 

 the ancient Romans, and its fame has been sung by Horace, 

 Martial and other classical writers. Large numbers were 

 reared in specially constructed reservoirs near the sea, and 

 were reputed to have been fed at times upon the corpses of 

 slaves. Mr. Radcliffe tells us that, according to Seneca and 

 Pliny, " a slave, for breaking a crystal decanter at a banquet 

 given to Augustus, was ordered to be thrown instantly into 

 a piscina, there to be eaten alive by the nibbling voracious 

 Murana ". The Romans believed that the bite of the Murry 



