Gymnothorax rueppelliae is a moray eel found in coral reefs in Red Sea, East Africa to Hawaii, Tuamotu, Marquesas Islands, north of Ryukyu Islands and south of the Great Barrier Reef. It is a pale grey to greyish-brown moray with a 16-21 dark bars on the body and fins that become indistinct with growth, top of the head yellow and a dark spot at the corner of the mouth. It commonly known as the banded moray, banded reef-eel, Rüppell's moray, Rüppell's moray eel, black barred eel, yellow-headed moray eel, or the yellow-headed moray.