THE ANIMAL FILES

Leopard moray eel

Enchelycore pardalis

A flexible body helps handle resistant prey.

The leopard moray eel shelters in reef crevices and hunts mainly at night. Its long body lacks pectoral and pelvic fins, and feeding can involve rolling or knotting as well as a jaw strike. Vivid spots accompany a very flexible predator.[1]

Follow the evidence ↓
Leopard moray eel
Image: Izuzuki · Commons · CC BY 2.5
A spotted reef eel
The body lacks pectoral and pelvic fins.[1]
Rotation
The body can rotate around its long axis.[1]
Knotting and cover
A body loop can become a knot.[1]

A spotted reef eel

White, reddish and dark spots cover the long body, with red markings around the face. Narrow curved jaws and tubular nostrils are prominent. Spots vary in form, so the pattern is richer than one identical mark repeated along every eel.[1]

Rotation

After catching prey, the eel can spin to tear off flesh or control resistance. The bite secures a hold, while the rest of the body supplies movement. Capturing prey and reducing it to edible pieces are different steps.[1]

Knotting and cover

Passing the tail through a loop creates a knot used in handling larger or resistant prey. Reef crevices provide daytime shelter, and fish and small cephalopods supply much of the food. The same flexible body supports both narrow refuge use and feeding movements.[1]

A COMMON MIX-UP

Is a strike the entire feeding sequence?

No. Once prey is held, rotation or knotting can help handle it.[1]

TRY A LITTLE REASONING

Why can a whole-body movement help when prey resists the jaws?

Reveal the explanation

Rotation and knotting add forces beyond the jaw's grip, helping control or tear the prey.[1]

Sources & editorial notes

Adapted and translated from the cited Wikipedia revisions, with source-linked reasoning. Image credit and licence are listed separately above.

Adapted and translated from Wikipedia contributors; exact revisions are linked below. CC BY-SA 4.0

  1. Wikipedia contributors — Leopard moray eel (cited revision)
  2. NCBI Taxonomy — Enchelycore pardalis

Last fact check:

One discovery leads to another

European eelA continental life can end with an ocean journey.Anguilla anguilla ↗GoldfishA familiar fish with a learnable world.Carassius auratus ↗Common carpThe muddy mouthful is sorted before the meal is swallowed.Cyprinus carpio ↗