Fish of the Muraena genus of the Muraeninae subfamily of the Muraenidae (moray eels) family of the Anguilloidei suborder of the Anguilliformes (eels) order of the Elopomorpha superorder.
(Mediterranean moray. Photo by © marocpechealacanne.ma)
Mediterranean moray (Muraena helena) was first described in 1758 by the Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778).
It inhabits the depths from one to 800 meters, usually from 8 to 60 meters, deep. It is the demersal predator. It is of nocturnal nature. It spends most of the time in ambush in the bottom caves, depressions and hollows of rocks, between piles of stones. The maximum recorded length is 150 centimeters, weight – 6.5 kilograms. There are individuals up to 80 centimeters long more often. It feeds on fish, squid, crab, and also carrion.
(Mediterranean moray. Photo by © Carlos Marqués. fotonatura.org)
It is a permanent inhabitant of the Adriatic Sea.
If it is treated carelessly, it can injure a human being – in case it happens near its habitation, and in case it is pulled out of the water. It can attack and inflict very unpleasant lacerations. A great danger is posed by the microflora and toxins in the mouth of the fish and all over the fish. Toxins may infect the wound. On extraordinary occasions, it can cause blood poisoning. Under water, mediterranean moray, in the vast majority of cases, prefers to recede, rather than show aggression towards people.
Names of Mediterranean moray (Muraena helena) in other languages are as follows:
Murena (Albanian), Közönséges muréna (Hungarian), Moeraal (Dutch), Σμέρνα (Smerna) (Greek), Morena del Mediterraneo (Spanish), Murena (Italian), Mittelmeer-Muräne (German), Murena sródziemnomorska (Polish), Moreia-comum, Moreão (Portuguese), Murena (Romanian), Европейская мурена (Evropejskaja murena) (Russian), Murina, Murina žutošarka (Croatian, Serbian), Merina balığı (Turkish), Murène commune, Murène de la Méditerranée (French), Muréna obecná (Czech).