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Issue: Vol. 3134 No. 1: 16 Dec. 2011
Type: Articles
Published: 2011-12-16
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3134.1.2
Page range: 43–52
Abstract views: 70
PDF downloaded: 32

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.

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