Undulated Moray Identification Guide

Key identification features

• Elongated, scaleless eel body reaching about 1 m, occasionally larger in older individuals
• Dark brown-to-black wavy or maze-like lines running across a yellow-green to grayish body
• Head and snout noticeably paler than the body, without dark markings around the eye or jaw
• Continuous dorsal, tail, and anal fins blending seamlessly into the overall body pattern
• Small, sharp recurved teeth visible when the mouth is opened wide to breathe
• Stocky build compared to slimmer reef eels, with a rounded rather than compressed body

Common look-alikes

• Yellow-edged Moray: shows a bright yellow-rimmed dorsal fin, which the Undulated Moray does not display
• Peppered Moray: covered in small dark spots rather than connected wavy lines
• Zebra Moray: shows thin, regular vertical bands instead of irregular wavy patterning

Where you'll see one

Common on Indo-Pacific coral and rocky reefs from the Red Sea to the central Pacific, sheltering by day in crevices, holes, and under ledges on shallow reef flats and slopes down to about 30 m.