52. MURJENUXE MUE^NA. 355 



FAMILY LIT. MURJENID^E. 



(The Murcenas.) 



Body elongate, eel-shaped, naked. Head subconical, elevated at the 

 occiput, the snout rather slender; skull less developed than in fishes 

 generally, the opercular bones rudimentary, the preoperculum generally 

 wanting. Premaxillary rudimentary or wanting. Ethmoid very wide. 

 Maxillary, symplectic, pterygoid, basal-branchihyal, superior and in- 

 ferior pharyngeal bones all wanting, except the fourth superior pharyn- 

 geal, which is jaw-like, aud supported by a strong superior branchihyal. 

 Teeth various. Gill-opening reduced to a small slit or foramen. Ven- 

 tral fins none. Pectorals usually wanting ; dorsal and anal low, conflu- 

 ent around the tail, sometimes wanting. Skeleton well ossified. Mus- 

 cular system well developed. Genera 5 or 6; species about 110. Abun- 

 dant in warm seas, often reaching a large size. 



(Murcenidce engyscliistce Giinther, viii, 93-136: order Colocepliali Cope, Trans. Amer. 

 Phil. Soc. 1870, 456.) 



a. Pectorals none ; vertical fins well developed ; nostrils round ; teeth all acute. 



MUR^NA, 168. 



16. MITR.3ENA Linnaeus. 

 (Artedi ; Linn. Syst. Nat. : type Murcena helenas L.) 



Pectoral fins none; dorsal and anal fins well developed. Posterior 

 nostril round, with or without tube; anterior nostril with a tube. 

 Teeth well developed, acute. Tongue not free. JSTo lateral line. Body 

 usually moderately elongate. Species very numerous in warm seas. 

 (/jLupatvctj the ancient name of Murccna lielcnce; from p-dpov, a sweet oil.) 



a. Posterior as well as anterior nostrils tubular. (Murccna.) 



. M. melaeiotis (Kaup) Gthr. Moray. 



Brownish black, everywhere with numerous round yellowish spots, 

 most of which are smaller than the eye, these sometimes confined to 

 the head and trunk; a large round black spot around the gill-opening; 

 angle of mouth black. Nasal tubes subequal in length, shorter than 

 the eye. Maxillary teeth biserial, and in young examples mandibulary 

 teeth also. Canine teeth somewhat knife-shaped, of moderate length. 

 Mouth capable of being completely shut. Gill-opening narrow, not 

 wider than the small eye. Snout of moderate length. Cleft of mouth 

 of moderate length, about 2J in length of head. Tail longer than body. 

 Head 2 in length of trunk. West Indies, &c. (Giinther.) Specimens 



