Eels and Morays: Anguilliformes

Eels and morays have long, thin bodies. The color ranges from black or dark gray for eels and morays that live in the deep sea to rich colors and complex patterns in those that inhabit tropical reefs. The length ranges from about 4 inches (10 centimeters) to 13 feet (4 meters). Most eels and morays do not have scales, or thin, hard plates covering the skin. Eels and morays have as many as seven hundred vertebrae (ver-teh-BREE), the bones that make up the spinal column.