European moray eel: its bite heals for six months (10 photos)

When you imagine a dangerous fish, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Sharp shark teeth? The huge mouth of an anglerfish? The venom of a puffer fish? But what if you combine all of these features into one vicious and secretive sea "snake"? You get the European moray eel!





It took the best from the best, so to speak.

The European moray eel is a truly brutal beast. Its powerful snake-like body stretches like a ribbon in the water column for 1.5 meters. Long and sharp fangs, unblinking eyes that swear, natural toxicity. The image of the beast is woven from hatred for the world around it.



This is how introverts feel in a large company.

The moray eel respects peace and solitude. In the rocky shallows of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, it crawls deeper into crevices and holes. Woe to anyone who approaches the lair of the fish snake. The older it gets, the more fiercely it defends its territory.





This is private territory, filming is prohibited here!

Even those unfortunates who inadvertently swam past get it. But the moray eel's sentence for all violators of personal boundaries is the same: death penalty without the possibility of pardon. The moray eel does not bite. It bites its victim tightly. It is impossible for a medium-sized fish to escape from the trap of sharp teeth that reach all the way to the throat.



We are all a bit of an aggressive moray eel when they call us after hours.

If you are not afraid of the teeth of a sea beast, it has another weapon - poison. Two types of toxin are contained in the mucus of the fish: the first causes red blood cells to stick together. The second destroys them. As a result: a large enemy gets a deep wound that hurts much more than it should. And it also takes up to six months to heal! Because of this, the European moray eel becomes one of the few deadly species of moray eels. If the wound is not treated in time, blood poisoning will occur.



Two top predators fight for prey. Wildlife is amazing.

Is that not enough? Well, the moray eel is toxic not only on the outside, but also on the inside. Its blood contains poisonous proteins. When heated to 75 C°, they break down. So the meat becomes safe for humans. But sea creatures have not yet learned to make fire in water. That is why even large predators avoid meeting the snakefish.



Hey, do you even know who you're keeping?! Even the local sharks are afraid of me!

The only one who befriends the aggressive recluse is the Mediterranean shrimp. It lives right on the moray eel's body, cleaning parasites and food scraps from its skin. In gratitude, the sea beast gives shelter and protection.



— Yeah, change the seven, fix the three. Well, I see, you owe me 5 thousand. - And if I eat it? - Then everything is free!

The fish snake carefully crawls out for a snack under the cover of night. The predator grabs everything it can swallow. Cracking a mollusk, grabbing a gaping fish, chewing an octopus and swallowing a smaller moray eel - the animal does not deny itself anything. The main thing is to make a competent jerk and an accurate blow. A long chase is too tiring.



The moray eel is rarely caught as a catch. Therefore, it is considered a valuable trophy in sport fishing.

It seems that raising the young generation was just as tiring for the moray eels. Due to their bad character and secrecy, it was not possible to find out much about reproduction. But what is known for sure is that moray eels rely on quantity, not quality. Tens of thousands of eggs immediately go free swimming.



Well, kids, you are finally 1 day old. Now get out of the house and don't come back!

Those that are not eaten will hatch into very peculiar babies called leptocephali. They look like completely transparent ribbons with a barely noticeable head. With such an appearance, some lucky ones manage to survive and grow into an adult moray eel, which will cling to life with all its teeth!



Moray eel babies look like ghosts from other dimensions...