Underwater photographer Ian Haggerty, while diving off the coast of Mauritius, witnessed a rare moment: a ribbon eel (Rhinomuraena quaesita), bright blue with yellow accents, left its usual sandy burrow and glided freely through the water, resembling a fluttering silk scarf.
Usually these members of the moray eel family spend most of their time hidden in shelters among the reefs, with only their heads protruding. Free swimming in open water is a phenomenon that divers see extremely rarely, and that is precisely why Haggerty's footage, taken in the company of the Ocean Spirit centre, drew attention.
Ribbon eels inhabit the tropical Indo-Pacific region at depths of from one to fifty-seven metres. Their elongated nostrils and their ability to change colour with age — from black in juveniles to blue in males and yellow in females — make them some of the most recognisable reef inhabitants, although scientific data on sex change remain a subject of debate.
The observation highlights how fragile and secretive life in reef ecosystems is: what seems a simple spectacle in fact reveals the complex behavioural patterns of a predator that feeds on small fish and relies on camouflage.
Such encounters are a reminder that treating marine inhabitants with respect is the key to preserving their natural behaviour and the entire ecosystem as a whole.
