Rhinomuraena quaesita Garman, 1888
Ribbon moray, 130cm

This is a rare species at Kwajalein. We personally have seen only one individual, the black juvenile below poking out of a hole in the reef at a depth of about 26m on the Kwajalein Atoll seaward reef. We also had one reliable report of a blue male in one of the Kwajalein reef quarries. The only images we have are old, low resolution hi8 video frame captures that do not do the animals justice. Following the juvenile and female images of Kwajalein specimens, several photos from Indonesia are included to show what the animals really look like. This eel is a protandrous hermaphrodite (i.e., it changes from male to female during its lifetime) and is apparently the only moray that undergoes such abrupt changes in color as it changes sex. Immediately below is the one juvenile we have found at Kwajalein.

The next one is a juvenile from Bali, Indonesia.

Here is a yellow female, also from Bali.

The striking blue males below are also from Bali.

Created 5 July 2017
Updated 20 December 2019

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