Recently, two new species of Marine Eels have been discovered by Estuarine Biology Regional Centre (EBRC) of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).

• One of them, a short brown un-patterned Moray Eel, named Gymnothorax andamanensesis, is found near the south Andaman coast.
• 10 species of short brown unpatterned moray eels have been discovered in the world, out of which two were found in Indian waters.
• Another is a new white-spotted Moray Eel, now named Gymnothorax smithi.

Moray Eels

• Moray Eels occur in all tropical and subtropical seas, they live in shallow water among reefs and rocks.

• They are known for two types of jaws: one is regular (oral) jaws with big teeth and the second jaw is called the pharyngeal jaw (which drags prey inside the eels stomach).

• There IUCN red list status is Least Concern.

• Morays are opportunistic,carnivorous predators and feed primarily on smaller fish, octopuses, squid, cuttlefish and crustaceans. 

• Groupers, barracudas and sea snakes are among their few known predators, making many morays (especially the larger species) apex predators in their ecosystems.

• The moray eel can be found in both freshwater habitats and saltwater habitats. The vast majority of species are strictly marine, never entering freshwater. Of the few species known to live in freshwater