jg4 The Philippine Journal of Science 1923 



In general, alcoholic specimens are cream colored to whitish 

 brown, with from twenty-one to thirty-five broad dark brown 

 to blackish bands, much wider than the interspaces; the dark 

 bands may or may not meet below, but often do so on the tail. 

 The tip of the snout and tail are usually pale, but in my larger 

 specimen the tip of the snout is dark. 



This species bears a remarkable resemblance to Chlevastes 

 colubrinus, with which it dwells in the coral. 



A marine species found on coral reefs and along shore, occur- 

 ring from the Riu Kiu Islands to Queensland, and from the 

 Hawaiian Islands to the Samoan and Fiji groups. 

 Genus CIERHIMUILffiNA Kaup 

 Cirrhimursena Kaup, Uebersicht der Aale, Archiv. fur Naturg. 22 

 (1856) 52; Cat. Apod. Fishes Brit. Mus. (1856) 27. 



Small, slender, elongate, cylindrical eels distinguished from 

 all related forms by the fringe of short, irregularly formed, 

 mustachelike barbels on upper lip; dorsal beginning above or 

 slightly before or behind gill openings ; pectorals well developed ; 

 head small, elongated, the narrow and pointed snout projecting 

 beyond the large mouth, which extends backward far behind 

 the small eye; teeth small, needlelike, uniform or rarely the 

 inner row larger, mostly depressible, pointed backward, in bands 

 on jaws and vomer, those on intermaxillary plate in a separate 

 group; anterior nostrils short tubes projecting downward and 

 located on each side of snout about a third of the distance from 

 its tip to eye ; posterior nostrils opening on inner side of upper 

 lip, just forward of eye or below its front margin; tongue 

 adnate; gill openings small, in front of and somewhat below 

 base of pectorals ; a lateral line present ; anus in anterior half 

 of length, tail very much longer than head and trunk. 



Species few and poorly differentiated; the five nominal ones 

 of the East Indies are probably reducible to two, though more 

 material is necessary to clear this problem. Found from the 

 Red Sea, Zanzibar, and Madagascar to the Philippines, China, 

 and Australia. 



Key to the species of Cirrhimursena. 



a\ Maxillary teeth in two rows, the inner one larger C oliveri. 



a 1 . Maxillary teeth of uniform size, in three to six rows. 



ft 1 . Vomerine teeth biserial; cleft of mouth about 3 in head. 



C. tapeinopterus. 



b\ Vomerine teeth in three or four rows; cleft of mouth about 2.5 in head. 



