24. MUK-ffiNA. 99 



of the snout, a little nearer to the angle of the mouth than to the 

 end of the snout. Cleft of the mouth wide, its width being two-fifths 

 of the length of the head. Tail longer than the body. The length 

 of the head is contained twice and one-third in that of the trunk. 

 Brownish black, all parts with oval white spots, as large as or 

 larger than the eye. Angle of the mouth and gill-opening black ; 

 inside of mouth spotted with black. 



Southern Seas. 

 a. Type of the species, 9| inches long. Presented by Sir J. 

 Richardson. 



5. Muraena partialis. 



Mursena pavdalis, Schlcfi. Faun. Japon. Poiss. p. 268, tab. 119; lileck. 



Act. Soc. Sc. Ind.-S'edcrl. iii. Jajmn, iv. p. 30; and Nat. Tydschr. 



Ned. Ind. xvi. p. 200. 

 Gymnothorax pardalis, Bleek. Atl. Ichth. Murcen. p. 86, pi. 25. fig. 1, 



and pi. 20. fig. 2. 



Posterior nostrils tubular, the tubes being more than twice as 

 long as the anterior, the length of which is less than the vertical 

 diameter of the eye. The maxillary and mandibulary teeth are bi- 

 scrial in young examples ; but with age the two series melt into each 

 other, constituting a single series composed of large canine-like teeth 

 with small intermediate teeth. The other teeth uniserial ; the inter- 

 maxillary and anterior vomerine teeth arc long canines, which 

 prevent the mouth from being shut. Gill-opening a small horizontal 

 slit, not much wider than the eye. Snout pointed, narrow. Eye of 

 moderate size, two-fifths of the length of the snout, a little nearer to 

 the angle of the mouth than the end of the snout. Cleft of the 

 mouth very wide, its width being at least two-fifths of the length of 

 the head. Tail longer than .the body. The length of the head is 

 two-fifths of that of the trunk. Brown, clouded with darker ; all 

 parts with numerous whitish or yellowish dark-edged ocelli, which 

 arc partly confluent, and much larger on the lower parts than on 

 the upper. 



Japan, Cocos, Java ; Mauritius. 



a. Adult. From Dr. Bleekcr's Collection. 

 h. Adult : stuffed. Mauritius. 



0. Muraena lentiginosa. 

 Jejiyiis, Zool. Bear/k, Fish. p. 143. 

 Posterior and anterior nasal tubes equal in length, not quite as 

 long as the vertical diameter of the eye. Maxillary and mandibularv 

 teeth biserial or uniserial, according to the age of the individual. 

 Tlie teeth on the palate are sometimes entirely lost with age. An- 

 terior canines not much exceeding in length those on the side of the 

 jaws. Gill-openings small, not wider than the eye, two-fifths of the 

 length of the snout, which is rather pointed, narrow. VjJc some- 

 what nearer to the angle of the mouth than to the cxtreniitj' of the 

 snout. Cleft of the mouth railicr more than one-third of the Icngtli 



[t 2 



