104 MVR^NID^. 



15. Muraena nudi vomer. 



Giinth. in Fish. Zanz. p. 127, pi. 18. 



The anterior intermaxillary and mandibulary teeth are biscrial, 

 the others uniserial (some of the teeth slightly serrated) ; the vomer 

 is toothless (in the only example known); mandible with about twenty 

 teeth on each side ; canines small. Eye small. Snout of moderate 

 length. Cleffc of the mouth of moderate width. Tail apparently 

 somewhat longer than the body. The length of the head is two-fifths 

 of that of the trunk. The anterior half of the fish is yellow, with 

 small brown spots and lines ; whilst on the posterior half the brown 

 may be regarded as the ground-colour, ornamented with ovate yellow 

 spots larger than the eye, and so closely arranged that the brown 

 colour forms merely a continuous network of lines. 



Zanzibar. 



a. Type of the species, stuffed, 34 inches long. From Lieut.-Col 



Playfair's Collection. 

 h. Adult : stuffed. From Lieut.-Col. Playfair's Collection. 



b. Species ornmnented by well-defined black cross bands. 



16. Mursena riippellii 



Muraena colubrina, Lacep. v. pp. 027, 641, 042, pi. 19. fig. 1 (not 

 Boddiiert) ; Richards. Voy. Ereb. Sf Terr. Fish. p. 88 ; Bleek. Nat. 

 Tydschr. Ned. Ind. vi. p. 335. 



reticulata, Rupp. Atl. Fisch. p. 117 (not BL). 



Dalophis riipellise, M^Clell. Calc. Journ. Nat. Hist. v. p. 213. 



Thyrsoidea colubrina, Kaup, Apod. p. 84 (copied from Richardson). 



Gymnothorax reticularis, Bleek. Atl. Ichth. Mur. p. 98, tab. 33. tig. 1 ; 

 "tab. 37. fig. 4 ; and tab. 39. fig. 2 (not Bhch). 



Teeth uniserial, younger examples sometimes with one or two 

 additional teeth, forming an inner maxillary series ; mandibulary 

 teeth 20 to 23 ; canines moderately developed ; the mouth can be 

 shut completely. Anterior nasal tubes much shorter than the ver- 

 tical diameter of the eye. Gill-opening as wide as the eye. Snout 

 sb'ghtly compressed, of moderate length : eye of moderate size, 

 rather more than half the length of the snout, situated nearly above 

 the middle of the cleft of the mouth. Cleft of the mouth rather 

 wide, its length being contained twice and two-thirds in that of the 

 head. Tail longer than the body ; the length of the head is con- 

 tained from twice and one-third to twice and two-thirds in that of 

 the trunk. Head, body, and Jins encircled by 18 or 20 complete, 

 ivell-defined black rings, which are considerably narrower than the 

 interspaces. With age the dorsal part of each ring becomes some- 

 what diffused. The three rings on the head very distinct (none on the 

 end of the snout) ; the first through the eye, the second behind the 

 cleft of the mouth, the third in front of or across the giU-opening. 

 East-Indian archipelago. 



a, b. Adult. Moluccas. 



c, d. Half-grown and young. Borneo. 



