Fangtooth Moray

The fangtooth moray is a moray eel found on rocky reefs of the eastern Atlantic, including the Mediterranean Sea, Canary Islands, and West African coast. Its most notable feature is a set of pronounced, curved jaws lined with long, backward-pointing teeth so prominent that the mouth cannot fully close, giving the species its common name. It belongs to the family Muraenidae, the true morays, within the order Anguilliformes. Like most morays, it spends daylight hours hidden within rock crevices and only becomes active at dusk and after dark. It is a relatively common but not frequently observed member of temperate to subtropical rocky reef communities.

Key features that distinguish the fangtooth moray:

• Jaws: strongly curved and unable to close completely, exposing long fangs at rest
• Color: mottled orange-brown to yellowish-tan, sometimes with darker blotching
• Body: slender and elongated, typical moray shape with continuous dorsal-anal-caudal fin
• Size: moderate for a moray, generally under 1.5 m
• Habitat: rocky crevices rather than sand or mud

The permanently gaping, fang-lined mouth is the clearest distinguishing trait, setting it apart from smoother-jawed morays such as the Mediterranean moray.

This species inhabits rocky reefs and boulder fields in the eastern Atlantic, ranging from the Mediterranean Sea south along the West African coast to the Canary Islands and Cape Verde. It favors crevices, caves, and holes within rocky substrate at depths from the shallow subtidal down to around 200 meters, though it is most frequently encountered on shallower rocky reef. Water temperatures across its range are temperate to subtropical. Like other morays, it relies on structurally complex hard bottom for shelter and rarely ventures over open sand for extended periods.

The fangtooth moray is a solitary, mainly nocturnal predator that remains concealed within rock crevices during the day, with only its head sometimes visible. At night it emerges to hunt fish and cephalopods, relying on strong jaws and a keen sense of smell rather than eyesight to locate prey in low light. Like all morays, it uses a second, pharyngeal set of jaws to draw prey into its throat once seized. It is generally not aggressive toward other reef species unless provoked or defending its shelter. Reproduction follows the typical eel life cycle, with pelagic leptocephalus larvae that drift before settling onto reef habitat.