Splendid Garden Eel Gorgasia preclara

Hundreds of Garden Eels live in a colony in the sand at the edge of a reef with their tops protruding above their individual burrow and waving in the current looking like "gardens" of eels - hence their name. The Splendid Garden Eel is native to sandy reefs of the Indo-Pacific.

Adults have a white and orange banded body. They use their large eyes and over-sized mouth to catch plankton passing in the current. Although only some 5cm or so may protrude from the burrow, the adult Splendid Garden Eel is actually some 30-40cm long. They stop their burrow collapsing by smearing body mucus over the sand.

Above left is a Splendid Garden Eel with its more pointed face and a Spotted Garden Eel with its blunter face. They rarely leave their burrow but may make a new one nearer a partner and mate by extending their bodies out of the burrows.