38 BULLETIN 180, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



S&. Maxillary teeth in two rows and color pattern not composed of 

 small black spots or black specks; middle teeth of intermaxillary 

 plate fanglike or much longer than marginal series. 

 10a. Black rings with pale interspaces on head and body, at least 

 always discernible on tail region. 

 11a. About 17 to 20 black rings completely encircle body even 

 anteriorly on ventral surface of head; pale interspaces 

 about IVz times wider than black rings that extend on 

 fins; first black ring through eye (snout pale or white) ; 

 second ring just in front of dorsal origin; third ring 

 usually including gill opening or just in front of it; tip 

 of tail white; anus usually between the eighth and 

 ninth black ring ; rim of posterior nostril not elevated 

 on young but a little raised on adults. 



Gymnothorax ruppelli (McClelland) 

 11&. About 17 to 20 black rings that do not completely encircle 

 body and head anteriorly; usually these black rings do 

 not meet ventrally on head or trunk forward ; posteriorly 

 rings do not extend on anal fin, latter pale in color ; anus 

 usually between eighth to tenth black ring; black rings 

 about same width as pale interspaces ; first black ring over 

 eye, usually dividing below eye with an extension on snout 

 and to corner of mouth ; second black ring at origin of 

 dorsal, sometimes with an extension to corner of mouth ; 

 third ring through or at rear of gill opening; rim of 

 posterior nostrils barely if at all elevated. 



Gymnothorax petelli (Bleeker) 

 10&. Color pattern not of black rings with pale interspaces encircling 

 body and head. 

 12a. Height of dorsal fin over anus % depth of body at anus 

 and much longer than snout ; middle teeth of intermaxil- 

 lary plate fanglike, vomerine teeth probably uniseriai; 

 body light brownish, mottled with paler on upper half 

 of body and very high dorsal fin ; ventral sides plain. 

 The following proportions were computed from a 437 mm. 

 specimen : Head 7.1 ; depth 17.5 ; snout to anus 2.24 ; tail 

 1.8; all in the total length. Head 3.17; depth 7.8: in 

 snout to anus. Eye 1.56 in snout. Snout 5.25; snout to 

 rictus 2.4 ; depth of body at anus 2.74 ; and height of 

 dorsal above anus 2.78, all in length of head. (Fig. 4, g.) 

 Gymnothorax pseudothyrsoideus (Bleeker) 

 12b. Height of dorsal fin, above anus, contained three or more 

 times in depth of body at anus; dorsal fin over anus 

 usually shorter than snout. 

 13rtf. Middorsal region of head white from between bases of 

 anterior nostrils posteriorly to dorsal fin on young and 

 to or past interorbital space on those 170 mm. and 

 longer, or, if white streak is lacking on those 200 mm. 

 or longer, body is crossed with 40 to 50 dendritic blackish 

 spots forming bars on a paler background. 

 14r7. From behind eye occurs a lengthwise series of two to 

 seven or more oblong black blotches, the first just 

 behind ej-e to about % to % length of head ; second 

 in front of and below dorsal origin ; third in front 



