Moray & Leatherbass Hunting

One way to get a snack is to eat the crumbs of someone else’s meal. That’s essentially what the Leatherbass does. When a Moray Eel goes foraging, the Leatherbass follows, pouncing on any fish that escapes the eel!

This dramatic scene involving Moray Eels and a school of Leatherbass was filmed at Malpelo Island off Columbia, South America, and is understood to be cooperative hunting. Moray eels have poor eyesight but a highly developed sense of smell, and are normally ambush predators. But in this scene, they are witnessed leaving their burrows and actively moving across the seafloor. Their streamlined bodies enable them to access tight crevices between boulders as they forage. Any prey escaping the eel is flushed out for the waiting Leatherbass. This fish is an aggressive predator of fish and crustacea, and they shadow the eels hoping for an easy meal. The Leatherbass is a fascinating fish, with juveniles often seeking shelter in sea urchin spines, and adult females able to sex change. The Leatherbass is overfished across its range, and is considered ‘rare’.