I saw this large undulated moray eel cruising in shallow water until it disappeared into, what appeared to me to be a tiny crack in the coral. John P. Hoover says of the undulated moray eel, “One of the commonest Indo­-Pacific morays, it is also one of the nastiest; do not attempt to play with it or feed it.” Words to live by.

In my attempts to identify what I see in the water, I use John P. Hoover’s book The Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes, Sea Turtles, Dolphins, Whales, and Seals. His website is hawaiisfishes.com.

The distinctive markings of a zebra moray eel make it easy to spot when it’s out in the open, but they’re not as common as whitemouth morays. This one was in a relatively shallow area, working through cracks in the rock and coral.

Whitemouth moray eels are typically seen wedged into cracks, usually with just a head sticking out. This good-sized eel was jammed in particularly tightly, under a lump of overhanging coral. I think I saw the same eel again, a couple of days later, in a different spot, but in equally cramped conditions. Perhaps it’s a bit agoraphobic.

You know how it is with some people? As soon as they open their mouths, you know who they are. The same is true with the whitemouth moray eel. This one is in a fairly typical position, wedged into a crevice with its bright white mouth open. They can look menacing with the head out and mouth opening and closing, but all they’re doing is pumping water over their gills, which is how they breathe.

In my attempts to identify what I see in the water, I use John P. Hoover’s book The Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes, Sea Turtles, Dolphins, Whales, and Seals and his Reef Fish Hawaii – waterproof pocket guide. His website is hawaiisfishes.com.