Last week I was astoundingly lucky to see my second transparent larval-stage Moray Eel. I never ever thought I would see another one. To see one is unbelievable….to see another is unheard of. The first one I saw was back in 2011. After a lot of research I found out that morays start life in this pre-juvenile larval stage. They swim around, for up to a year, in the blue water, as they mature. A couple of days before they will undergo the transformation to a solid and recognizable juvenile eel, they come into the reef, find a very secure spot under rubble/rocks/coral to make their change. This one was obviously looking for a place to hide, so it was an incredibly lucky find.
They are an almost unbelievable creature. Perfectly transparent (a great bit of camouflage if you are swimming around in the water column). Seeing is believing……. unless you see one you would never believe a creature like this could exist.
Size: around 30cm long
