jgg The Philippine Journal of Science 1923 



well developed with plainly visible rays, their height a little less 

 than one-third that of tail beneath; they are reduced to folds of 

 skin farther back but become much larger, a little less than two- 

 thirds the length of head from tip of tail, and unite with caudal 

 to form a somewhat spatulate fin; posterior nostrils in front of 

 middle of eyes and very close to them; both anterior and poste- 

 rior nostrils with distinct, whitish, slightly elevated rims; pec- 

 torals immediately behind and somewhat higher than gill 

 openings. 



Color dark brown above, light brown below, throat and belly 

 paler to grayish brown ; the terminal dorso-caudal-anal fin very 

 dark brown with paler margin. 



This eel is close to Aphthalmichthys macrocephalus, and to 

 Moringua floresiana, but differs markedly from the first in the 

 development of the vertical fins and is quite unlike Bleeker's 

 figure ; the dentition is different from that of either of the above- 

 named species, while its proportions are altogether different 

 from those of M. floresiana. 



Here described from the type and only specimen, Bureau of 

 Science collection No. 9664, from Dumaguete, Oriental Negros. 

 Its dimensions are as follows: Length, 655 millimeters; head, 

 67; trunk, 346; tail, 242; depth, 19; breadth, 20; eye, 2.5; gape, 

 10; snout, 6; pectoral, 8. 



This species is distinguished from Moringua microchir Bleeker 

 by its greater relative bulkiness, longer tail, different position 

 of dorsal and anal, and altogether different dentition. 

 Moringua cagayana Seale. Plate 8. 



Moringua cagayana Seale, Philip. Journ. Sci. § A 4 (1909) 493. 

 Depth about 4 in head and 51.3 in total length; head 7.75 in 

 trunk and 13.1 in total length ; trunk longer than head and tail 

 together, being more than 0.59 of total ; tail almost exactly one- 

 third of total length; eyes small, 18.4 in head and twice in snout; 

 cleft of mouth extends an eye diameter beyond eye and is 4.7 in 

 head; pectorals approximately equal to distance from tip of 

 snout to rear margin of eye. Origin of anal about four-fifths 

 the length of head behind anus; origin of dorsal still farther 

 back, its distance from anus being equal to that from tip of 

 snout to tip of pectorals. 



A single row of fragile, sharp-pointed, recurved teeth in each 

 jaw and five pairs of larger teeth on intermaxillary plate; nine 

 teeth on vomer, arranged in an irregular double row as shown 

 in the figure. 



