The Goldentail Moray is a species in the family of the Muraenidae and is therefore part of the order of Anguilliformes.
Description
The Goldentail Moray has a dark brown to black base colour with many golden dots lying close together. Near the head and tail these points are smaller while the body ends are completely golden. Its body is really long and snakelike. The inside of its mouth is white, and her mouth gap reaches behind her eyes.
Gymnothorax miliaris grows up to a maximum length of 60cm.
Habitat and Distribution
Usually, they live in holes, crevices and caves of rocky reefs to depths of 60m. When diving in the Canaries you can rarely observe Goldentail Morays. They are rather found on the small western islands of La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro. They are also to be seen in the eastern Atlantic on Saint Helena and Cape Verde and the western Atlantic from the coast of Florida down to Brazil.
Biology
The Goldentail Moray is a night-time hunter and sometimes allies with other hunters. In general, however, they live solitary.
Their diet consists mainly of crustaceans, molluscs and small fish.