Ribbon Eel
Rhinomuraena quaesita
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Actinopterygii
- Order
- Anguilliformes
- Family
- Muraenidae
- Genus
- Rhinomuraena
- Species
- Rhinomuraena quaesita
The ribbon eel (Rhinomuraena quaesita) is a slender moray with flared nostrils and an open mouth, famous for changing colour from black to blue to yellow as it ages. Juveniles are black with a yellow fin, adult males are bright blue with yellow, and the largest individuals turn mostly yellow.
It can reach around 1-1.3 m but is very thin, and it usually shows only its head and front of its body from a burrow in sand or rubble. Ribbon eels are thought to change sex from male to female as they grow, and they feed on small fish.
The ribbon eel is found across the Indo-Pacific, including the Philippines, where it is a classic sight on sandy and rubble slopes, waving gently from its hole.