[Photo] Taken at USS Liberty Shipwreck, Tulamben, Bali. Photo by Erwin Kodiat http://www.flickr.com/photos/terong/37354113/

Gymnothorax javanicus
Giant moray

Family: Muraenidae (Moray eels), subfamily: Muraeninae
Order: Anguilliformes (eels and morays)
Max. size: 300 cm TL (male/unsexed); max. published weight: 30.0 kg

Giant Moray
Gymnothorax javanicus (Bleeker, 1859)

The Giant Moray is mostly brown with dark brown spots. The head is yellow to brown and the gill opening is surrounded by a black blotch.

This species is the largest of all the Indo-Pacific morays, growing to 2.5m in length.

The Giant Moray is normally not a concern for divers, however it should never be provoked. It is a large, powerful fish with long canine teeth that can inflict serious wounds. Randall (1969) reported an attack on Vernon Brock, who speared a Giant Moray in Hawaii (more information).

The Giant Moray is found in tropical marine waters of the Indo-Pacific.

In Australia it is recorded from north-western Western Australia, around the tropical north, and south to southern Queensland.