Gymnothorax porphyreus
Lowfin Moray
Similar Species
Same Genus
Distribution
Temperate Australasia, Temperate South America
Description
Dense dark brown speckles on lighter brown base. G. javanicus (giant moray) and G. flavimarginatus (yellowmargin moray) have obvious black patch above/around gill opening. A temperate to sub-tropical NZ species, only occasionally seen in Australia at Tasman Sea Islands. Sometimes mistaken for G. obesus, which is rare and only known from a few specimens taken from deeper water in SE Australia and New Zealand.
Information
Max Size: 35 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 18.8-25.5°C
Depth: 1-40m
Habitat Generalization Index: N/A
Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.
Conservation and Rarity
IUCN Status: Least Concern
Occurrence: Frequent (10.5% of sites)
Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
Abundance: Solitary (1 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: extract from RD Stuart-Smith, GJ Edgar, AJ Green, IV Shaw. 2015. Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland