The Mediterranean Moray

The Mediterranean Moray, (Muraena Helena), is wide spread in the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic (from the South of England to Senegal, including the coastal areas of the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, and Cape Verde). It prefers rocky bottoms and lives at depths between 5–50 metres. Juvenile individuals are often found in very low water. Like all the anguilliforms the Moray has serpentiform body. It feeds on fish, crustaceans and molluscs, especially cephalopods. Hunting at night meandering through the rocks and researching the prey with the very developed smell. murena del mediterraneo

The Moray is a rather shy animal and if disturbed tends to flee inside the burrow or between the surrounding rocks; however it can attack even without being provoked because of its territoriality. It is particularly risky the habit of certain divers to offer food to moray eels with their hands. The bite of the Moray is very painful but it is not certain if there are toxins in the saliva. Toxins able to provoke hemolysis are certainly present in the blood of the Moray and numerous other anguilliforms such as eel and conger. These toxins, of a protein nature, are only active if they are introduced into the bloodstream of humans while they are harmless for ingestion. They are still inactivated by cooking.

The moray eel is particularly prized in the kitchen for its exquisite, refined flesh. This appreciation dates back to ancient times, when the Romans built special breeding tanks called “murenari” that only the wealthiest families could afford due to the high costs of construction and maintenance. Some sinister and completely unrealistic legends circulate about this eerie-looking animal, such as that in Ancient Rome, where moray eels were among the most prized fish, these fish farms were fed with human flesh. murena del mediterraneo

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