Echidna nocturna
| Echidna nocturna | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anguilliformes |
| Family: | Muraenidae |
| Genus: | Echidna |
| Species: | E. nocturna
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| Binomial name | |
| Echidna nocturna (Cope, 1872)
| |
Echidna nocturna is a moray eel found in the eastern Pacific Ocean, in the Gulf of California and around Peru and the Galapagos Islands.[1] It was first named by Cope in 1872,[1] and is commonly known as the freckled moray or the palenose moray.[2] It was discovered that Echidna nocturna and Muraena acutis are the same species.[3]
Description
[edit]Echidna nocturna has a long snake-like body with an average vertebral count of 120.4 vertebrae.[4] The average length of an adult eel is 48.26 cm.[3] Juveniles range in size from 8.52 cm to 35.48 cm with the average length being 22 cm.[5] They weigh between 1.12g and 296.1 g with the average weight being 49.62 grams.[5] It is gray-brown in color with rows of small white spots along its body. Its nose is paler in color compared to the rest of its body.
Habitat and distribution
[edit]Echidna nocturna habitats are distributed throughout the tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean.[3] They are found in both intertidal and coral reef habitats.[5] Juveniles typically reside in rocky shore tidepools while adults reside near the tidepools or in coral reefs.[5] Like other moray eels they have a pelagic larval phase.[6]
Diet
[edit]Echidna nocturna is an exclusively carnivorous species.[7] They have a low niche breadth, meaning they are specialized feeders.[7] Their diet consists primarily of the shrimp Penaeoidea.[7] They also consume crabs (Brachyura), stomapoda, and some other small animals.[7] Echidna nocturna are sometimes host to Theletrum lamothei, a species of digenean parasite.[8] This species of Theletrum was first discovered in the intestine of Echidna nocturna.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Echidna nocturna at www.fishbase.org.
- ^ Common names for Echidna nocturna at www.fishbase.org.
- ^ a b c Böhlke (deceased), Eugenia B.; Smith, David G. (October 2002). "Type Catalogue of Indo-Pacific Muraenidae". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 152 (1): 89–172. doi:10.1635/0097-3157(2002)152[0089:TCOIPM]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0097-3157.
- ^ McCleneghan, Kim (1976-03-12). "Vertebral Counts of Some Pacific Morays (Family Muraenidae)". Copeia. 1976 (1): 207–210. doi:10.2307/1443798. JSTOR 1443798.
- ^ a b c d Castellanos-Galindo, G. A.; Giraldo, A.; Rubio, E. A. (August 2005). "Community structure of an assemblage of tidepool fishes on a tropical eastern Pacific rocky shore, Colombia". Journal of Fish Biology. 67 (2): 392–408. doi:10.1111/j.0022-1112.2005.00735.x. ISSN 0022-1112.
- ^ Reece, Js; Bowen, Bw; Smith, Dg; Larson, A (2011-09-15). "Comparative phylogeography of four Indo-Pacific moray eel species (Muraenidae) reveals comparable ocean-wide genetic connectivity despite five-fold differences in available adult habitat". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 437: 269–277. Bibcode:2011MEPS..437..269R. doi:10.3354/meps09248. ISSN 0171-8630.
- ^ a b c d Castellanos-Galindo, Gustavo Adolfo; Giraldo, Alan (March 2008). "Food resource use in a tropical eastern Pacific tidepool fish assemblage". Marine Biology. 153 (6): 1023–1035. doi:10.1007/s00227-007-0874-y. ISSN 0025-3162.
- ^ a b Rodríguez-Ortíz, Beatriz; García-Prieto, Luis; Pérez-Ponce de León, Gerardo (2014-07-10). "Checklist of the helminth parasites of vertebrates in Costa Rica". Revista de Biología Tropical. 52 (2): 313. doi:10.15517/rbt.v52i2.15249. ISSN 2215-2075.