Jordan and Evermann. — Fishes of North America. 395 



648. LYCODONTIS MORIXGA (Cuvier). 

 (Common Spotted Moray ; Samlet.) 



Teeth uniserial, irregular in size in the jaws, those in the front of tlie 

 mouth long, slender canines; vomer with one or two large, depressible 

 teeth in front and usually a row of small teeth behind ; eye rather large, 

 about 2 in -snout (2| to 3 in dark specimens, the pigment encroaching on 

 the cornea, so that the eye seems notably smaller); cleft of mouth 1\ in 

 head ; head 2 to 3 in trunk : tail usually a little longer than the head and 

 trunk. Dark markings in the form of rounded spots, which are more or 

 less confluent, sometimes reducing the pale ground color to narrow reti- 

 culations on a surface of black ; ground color yellowish, the body covered 

 with brown or black spots of varying size, never much smaller than the 

 pupil of the eye, and sometimes so largely confluent as to make the ground 

 color appear as yellow reticulations on a face of black ; relative extent 

 of light and dark markings subject to very great variations ; spots on 

 head and snout generally smaller ; each pore on lower jaw generally placed 

 in a large pale spot ; dorsal and anal fins spotted like the body : mar- 

 gin of anal fin narrowly yellowish, this marking obliterated in dark 

 specimens. West Indies, Pensacola to Rio Janeiro and St. Helena; very 

 common, and very variable in amount of dark coloration, although the 

 pattern of markings is very constant. The most abundant eel in the West 

 Indies. {Moringa, a Portuguese corruption of Moray or Murana.) 



Miiriena macvlata nigra, (the Black Moray), Catesby, Nat. Hist. Carolina, pi. 21, 17:58, Bahamas. 



?? Gymnolhorax nfer, BLOfll, Ich., pi. 417, 1795, Africa. 



jlfHC-piia moriiiria, CuviER, Regne, Animal, ed. ii, Vol. ii, 352, 1829, (after Catesbv) ; (JCnther, 



Cat., VIII, 120, 1870; Goode, Bull. V. S. Nat. Mus., v, 72, 187G. 

 Oymnotliorax 7-nstrnlns, A0AS.SIZ, Spix, Pise. Bras., 91, pi. 50 a, 1830, Brazil. 

 Murie>ia mo>-iii(itia, RiCHARDSOX, Voy. Erefms and Terror, Fi.^Iics, 80, 1844, Jamaica. 

 Murirna jxmclata, Gronow, Catalogue Fishes, 18, 1854, North America. 

 Murennphis curvilineata, Castelnau, Aniiii. Amer. Sud, Poi.ss., 81, pi. 42, fig. 2, 1855, Rio 



Janeiro. 

 Murenophis caranmfa, Castelnau, Anini. Nouv. Bares, Amerique du Sud, 85, pi. 43, tig. 1, 1855, 



Bahia. 

 GymtwOiorax fluroscrqjdis, Poev, Euumeratio, 158,1875, Cuba. 

 Gymnothiirax picluratns, PoEV, Anal. Soc. Esp. Hist. Nat., 257, 1880, Cuba. 

 SUlera moriuija, Jordan, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1884, 111. 

 Gymnothonix 7noriitgua, Jordan & Davis, I. c, 601. 



649. LTCODONTIS MORDAX (Ayros). 

 (Conger Eel of California.) 



Snout short, narrow, and pointed. Occipital region becoming fleshy 

 and much elevated with age. Tail forming not quite half the total length. 

 Head 7 in length, 2k to 3i in trunk; tube of anterior nostril half as long 

 as the eye ; posterior nostril witli a slight border. Eye above the middle 

 of the gape, 2i to 3J in snout, which is 6i in rest of head. Gape 2i to 3^- 

 in head. Gill opening slightly larger than ej-e. Sides of the upper jaw 

 with two series of teeth posteriorly, the outer series of small, close-set, 

 recurved, tiiangular teeth, which are immovable; inner teeth about 5, 

 similar, but larger, depressible ; a groove between the two series; in front 



