Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Type: Articles
Published: 2011-12-16
Page range: 43–52
Abstract views: 59
PDF downloaded: 27

Gymnothorax melanosomatus, a new moray eel (Teleostei: Anguilliformes: Muraenidae) from southeastern Taiwan

Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taiwan 115, R.O.C
Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taiwan 115, R.O.C
Department of Aquaculture, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan 202, R.O.C Center of Excellence for Marine Bioenvironment and Biotechnology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan 202, R.O.C
Fish Muraenidae Gymnothorax moray eel new species Taiwan

Abstract

Gymnothorax melanosomatus new species, is described here on the basis of eight specimens collected from eastern coastal Taiwan at a depth 50–180 m. This new moray eel is distinguished from a closely similar species, G. prolatus, by a combination of the following characters: a uniformly black body when fresh (vs. brown), a relatively long preanal length 58.5 % of TL (vs. 48.9), shorter snout length 17.8 % of HL (vs. 20.0), interobital width 12.2 % of HL (vs. 14.3); more preanal vertebrae 105–109 (vs. 74–86) and total vertebrae 201–211 (vs. 174–190). The male and female are not different in body color and pattern, but the numbers of median intermaxillary teeth are different between the sexes, 0 in male and 2–3 in female.

References

  1. Böhlke, E.B. (1982) Vertebral formulae for type specimens of eels (Pisces: Anguilliformes). Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 134, 31–49.

    Böhlke, E.B. (1997) Notes on the identity of elongate unpatterned Indo-Pacific morays, with description of a new species (Muraenidae, Subfamily Muraeninae). Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 147, 89–109.

    Böhlke, E.B. & Randall, J.E. (2000) A review of the moray eels (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae) of the Hawaiian Island, with descriptions of two new species. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 150, 203–278.

    Chen, H.M., Shao, K.T. & Chen, C.T. (1994) A review of the muraenid eels (Family Muraenidae) from Taiwan with descriptions of twelve new records. Zoological Studies, 33(1), 44–64.

    Hamilton, F. (1822) An account of the fishes found in the river Ganges and its branches. Edinburgh: Archibald Constable and Co., pp. vii+405, 39 pls.

    Hatooka, K. (1986) Sexual dimorphism found in teeth of three species of moray eels. Japanese Journal of Ichthyology, 32(4), 379–386.

    Loh, K.H., Shao, K.T. & Chen, H.M. (2011) Length–weight relationships for 39 species of moray eel from the waters around Taiwan. Journal of Applied Ichthyolog, 27(3), 945–948.

    Sasaki, K. & Amaoka, K. (1991) Gymnothorax prolatus new moray eel from Taiwan. Japanese Journal of Ichthyology, 38(1), 7–10.

    Shao, K.T., Ho, H.C., Lin, P.L., Lee, P.F., Lee, M.Y., Tsai, C.Y., Liao, Y.C., Lin, Y.C., Chen, J.P. & Yeh, H.M. (2008) A checklist of the fishes of southern Taiwan, northern South China Sea. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, Supplement 19, 233–271.