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MURAENA

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Originally appearing in Volume V19, Page 16 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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MURAENA , the name of an See also:

eel See also:common in the Mediterranean, and highly esteemed by the See also:ancient See also:Romans; it was afterwards Muraena See also:pitta, from the Indo-Pacific. applied to the whole genus of fishes to which the Mediterranean See also:species belongs, and which is abundantly represented in tropical and sub-tropical seas, especially in rocky parts or on See also:coral reefs. Some ninety species are known. In the See also:majority a See also:long fin runs from the See also:head along the back, See also:round the tail to the vent, but all are destitute of See also:pectoral and ventral fins. The skin is scaleless and smooth, in many species ornamented with varied and See also:bright See also:colours, so that these fishes are frequently mistaken for See also:snakes. The mouth is wide, the jaws strong and armed with formidable, generally sharply pointed, See also:teeth, which enable the Muraena not only to seize its See also:prey (which chiefly consists of other fishes) but also to inflict serious, and sometimes dangerous, wounds on its enemies. It attacks persons who approach its places of concealment in shallow See also:water, and is feared by fishermen. Some of the tropical Muraenas exceed a length of to ft., but most of the species, among them the Mediterranean species, attain to only See also:half that length. The latter, the " morena " of the Italians and the Muraena See also:helena of ichthyologists, was considered by the ancient Romans to be one of the greatest delicacies, and was kept in large ponds and aquaria. It is not confined to the coasts of See also:southern See also:Europe, but is spread over the See also:Indian Ocean, and is not uncommon on the coasts of See also:Australia. Its See also:body is generally of a See also:rich See also:brown, marked with large yellowish spots, each of which contains smaller brown spots.

End of Article: MURAENA

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