Moray ID help please

[supergaijin]

Hi all- a guest found and photographed this moray on one of our reefs here in the Maldives. i have never seen one like it.
Depth: 20m/65ft
Length: head was about the size of your little finger.
Time: approx 4pm

My first reaction was it was a type of snake eel, the way it was coming out vertically from the sand. Looking at the image however, I reckon it's a type of eel- possibly a juvenile of.... something.

Any ideas?

Appreciated

 

[gurnie]

It is a Spotted Moray Eel, I think.. Saw a ton of them last week diving in Belize..

---------- Post added February 22nd, 2013 at 01:42 PM ----------

Do they have those in the pacific?
Spotted Moray Eel - Gymnothorax moringa - Moray Eels - - Tropical Reefs

 

[supergaijin]

Don't know about Pacific- the Maldives is in the Indian Ocean. Long way to swim from Belize

Thanks for the link though- very interesting. I've been on this same reef a few times now and it's not a big place. Strange that I've never seen any adults.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

It looks like a Honeycomb Moray, Gymnothorax favagineus.

 

[supergaijin]

Honeycomb morays we have, however the colourings and spot patterns are quite different it seems. Honeycombs are usually to be found here on strong current swept reefs. The reef where the small moray was found was a fair distance from its normal habitat- however fish do swim.

Does anyone have a pic of a juvenile Honeycomb? Or juvenile spotted moray?