hourglass moray

Open encyclopedia reference

Muraena clepsydra, commonly known as the hourglass moray, is a moray eel found in coral reefs from the Gulf of California to Peru, and the Galapagos Islands. It was described by Charles Henry Gilbert in 1898. It dwells at a depth range of 0 to 25 metres (0 to 82 ft). Males can reach a maximum total length of 120 centimetres (47 in), but more commonly reach a TL of 60 centimetres (24 in).

Due to its wide distribution, lack of known threats, and lack of observed population decline, the IUCN redlist currently lists M. clepsydra as Least Concern.

Wikipedia contributors, Muraena clepsydra; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:02:29.386796+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Muraena clepsydra Gilbert, 1898

Name authority

Gilbert, 1898

Common name

hourglass moray

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Anguilliformes

Family

Muraenidae

Genus

Muraena

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. gigaclassActinopterygii
8. superclassActinopteri
9. classTeleostei
10. orderAnguilliformes
11. familyMuraenidae Rafinesque, 1815
12. subfamilyMuraeninae Rafinesque, 1815
13. genusMuraena Linnaeus, 1758
14. speciesMuraena clepsydra Gilbert, 1898

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Muraena. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 172 records assigned to Muraenidae.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. Jordan, D. S., & Evermann, B. W. (1898). The fishes of North and Middle America: a descriptive catalogue of the species of fish-like vertebrates found in the waters of North America, north of the Isthmus of Panama. Part II. Bulletin of the United States National Museum, No. 47: i–xxx + 1241–2183. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.39717 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:44L2Y. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.