Muraena melanotis (Kaup, 1859)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Muraena melanotis is a moray eel found in the eastern and western Atlantic Ocean. It is commonly known as the honeycomb moray. It grows to a maximum length of about 1 metre.
Wikipedia contributors, Honeycomb moray; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:14:50.145931+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Muraena melanotis (Kaup, 1859)
- Name authority
- (Kaup, 1859)
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderAnguilliformes
- familyMuraenidae Rafinesque, 1815
- subfamilyMuraeninae Rafinesque, 1815
- genusMuraena Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesMuraena melanotis (Kaup, 1859)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Muraena. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Muraena appendiculata (Guichenot, 1848) | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Argus morayMuraena argus (Steindachner, 1870) | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Muraena augusti (Kaup, 1856) | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| hourglass morayMuraena clepsydra Gilbert, 1898 | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mediterranean morayMuraena helena Linnaeus, 1758 | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Muraena pavonina Richardson, 1845 | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| jewel morayMuraena lentiginosa Jenyns, 1842 | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| reticulate morayMuraena retifera Goode & Bean, 1882 | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| stout morayMuraena robusta Osório, 1911 | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Muraena albomarginata Pfaff, 1933 Pfaff, 1933 | synonym |
| Limamuraena melanotis Kaup, 1859 Kaup, 1859 | synonym |
| Muraenophis melanotis (Kaup, 1859) (Kaup, 1859) | synonym |
| Limmamuraena melanotis Kaup, 1860 Kaup, 1860 | synonym |
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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=271901 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:44L4N. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.