Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Anguilliformes
(Eels and morays) > Muraenidae
(Moray eels) > Muraeninae
Etymology: Strophidon: Greek, strophos = twisted + Greek, odous = teeth (Ref. 45335).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Marine; freshwater; brackish; reef-associated; dH range: 15 - 30; amphidromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 15 m (Ref. 1602). Tropical; 23°C - 28°C (Ref. 13614); 30°N - 23°S
Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to the western Pacific.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 400 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3258); common length : 70.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3258)
Vertebrae: 183 - 196. Brownish grey above, lighter below (Ref. 3257). Body moderately elongate, cylindrical in front, compressed along tail; eyes small; teeth small, biserial, inner series enlarged; head not obviously distinct from trunk although the profile is moderately steep; very large mouth, extending to well beyond eye; biserial sharp teeth on jaws, larger in front and in inner row; dorsal fin inserted on head before gill-opening; scales absent (Ref. 4832).
Inhabits muddy ocean bottoms (Ref. 6934) and estuarine areas (Ref. 2334), but sometimes found in rivers (Ref. 2334) and inner bays (Ref. 37816). Feeds mainly on a variety of small fishes and crustaceans. Known to extend itself vertically from a burrow with it's head held horizontally beneath the surface, rising and falling with the tide (Ref. 9710). Marketed fresh and consumed locally (Ref. 3258). Solitary (Ref 90102).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Chen, H.-M., K.-T. Shao and C.T. Chen, 1994. A review of the muraenid eels (Family Muraenidae) from Taiwan with descriptions of twelve new records. Zool. Stud. 33(1):44-64. (Ref. 6934)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)
CITES (Ref. 115941)
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes
Common namesSynonymsMetabolismPredatorsEcotoxicologyReproductionMaturitySpawningFecundityEggsEgg development
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
Estimates of some properties based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969
): 25.5 - 29.3, mean 28.5 (based on 3263 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 1.0000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00170 (0.00103 - 0.00279), b=2.88 (2.74 - 3.02), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 4.0 ±0.65 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.01).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Very high vulnerability (87 of 100) .