Snowflake moray
| Snowflake moray | |
|---|---|
| Snowflake moray, Echidna nebulosa | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anguilliformes |
| Family: | Muraenidae |
| Genus: | Echidna |
| Species: | E. nebulosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Echidna nebulosa (J. N. Ahl, 1789) | |
| Synonyms | |
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The snowflake moray (Echidna nebulosa), also known as the clouded moray among many vernacular names, is a species of marine eel of the family Muraenidae. It has blunt teeth ideal for its diet of crustaceans, a trait it shares with the zebra moray (Gymnomuraena zebra).
Its Hawaiian name is puhi-kapa, which originates from King Kamehameha I’s nickname. The genus name is derived from the Greek word echidna meaning "viper", and the species name, nebulosa, originates from the Latin word nebulosus meaning "misty" or "cloudy".
It is widespread throughout the Indo-Pacific area from the eastern coast of Africa throughout Micronesia including the Red Sea and to Hawaii. The species is also found in the eastern Central Pacific from southern Baja California, Mexico, and from Costa Rica to northern Colombia.
This species reaches a length of 100 centimetres (39 in) but its common size is 50 centimetres (20 in). They live at depths ranging from 1 and 48 meters.