Freckleface reef-eel
Uropterygius xanthopterus
- Usual depth1–15 m
- Water temperature25–30 °C
- Best monthsApril
- How commonRare
About this species
Uropterygius xanthopterus is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It is commonly known as the freckleface reef-eel, spottedface moray, or the white-speckled snake moray.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Uropterygius xanthopterus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 7 records
- February: 11 records
- March: 21 records
- April: 59 records
- May: 17 records
- June: 7 records
- July: 22 records
- August: 15 records
- September: 20 records
- October: 12 records
- November: 14 records
- December: 1 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 1–15 m · Deepest record: 35 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 25–30 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Freckleface reef-eel, freckleface reef-eel, Spottedface Moray, White-speckled Snake Moray
Names in 3 more languages
- Spanish
- Morena de Anteojos
- Filipino
- Payangitan
- Japanese
- Kakeromakikaiutsubo, カケロマキカイウツボ
Other scientific names: Uropteryginus xanthopterus, Uropterygius alboguttatus, Uropterygius xanthropterus
Similar species
- Unicolor snake moray
Uropterygius concolor
- marbled eel
Uropterygius marmoratus
- Shortfinned Reef-eel
Uropterygius micropterus
Snowflake morayEchidna nebulosa
Barred morayEchidna polyzona
Lipspot morayGymnothorax chilospilus
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 325 open-data records from 1859 to 2023.
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