23,2 Herre: Philippine Eels 211 



three specimens, one of which I obtained at Sitanki, one caught 

 at Cabalian, Leyte, by Mr. Lopez, and one at Jordan, Guimaras, 

 by Mr. Montalban. 



This species is easily recognized by the dentition. While my 

 specimens have a black mark around the gill openings the only 

 author who seems to have noticed this character is Day who 

 says "gill opening sometimes with a black mark around it." 

 Jordan states that a living Samoan specimen had a pale edge 

 to the dorsal, but the fins do not ordinarily have a pale margin. 

 This species reaches a length of 650 millimeters and has a 

 wide range, occurring from the Seychelles and the coast of 

 Arabia to China, Guam, West Australia, the Samoas, Navigator, 

 and Tonga Isands. 

 Gymnothorax tile (Hamilton Buchanan). 



Mursenopkis tile Hamilton Buchanan, Fishes Ganges (1822) 18, 363. 

 Mursena vermiculata Richardson, Voyage Erebus and Terror, Fishes 



(1844-48) 92. 

 Mtirsena gracilis Richardson, Voyage Erebus and Terror, Fishes 



(1844-48) 92. 

 Gymnothorax tile Bleeker, Atlas Ichth. Murjen. 4 (1864) 97, pi. 34, 



fig. 1. 

 Echidna tile Peters, Monatsber. Akad. Wiss. Berlin (1868) 275. 

 Mursena tile Gunther, Cat. Fishes Brit. Mus. 8 (1870) 112; Day, 

 Fishes of India (1878-88) 668, pi. 170, fig. 4; Weber and Beaufort, 

 Fishes Indo-Austr. Arch. 3 (1916) 370. 



Depth 16 to 23 in total length, head 7.4 to nearly 8, and a 

 little less than 3 to 3.3 in trunk ; head and trunk together equal 

 or slightly exceed length of tail; eye 12 to 14 in head, 1.5 to 2 

 in the prominent snout and nearer angle of mouth ; gape, meas- 

 ured from the mandibulary symphysis, 3.8 to 4.2 in head ; origin 

 of dorsal slightly before gill openings, which are about the 

 size of eyes; the conical teeth are in two rows in maxillaries, 

 an outer row of fourteen or more, enlarged posteriorly, and an 

 inner row of five to eight larger teeth; a single row of twelve to 

 fourteen large teeth on intermaxillary plate, sometimes with a 

 few small ones intermingled, and a middle row of three still 

 larger canines; twenty or more blunt conical teeth on vomer, 

 in two rows or irregularly biserial; lower jaws with about 

 twenty-four teeth on each side, in two rows at anterior portion. 



Color in alcohol brown or brownish black, with very many 

 irregular minute light specks of unequal size which disappear 

 more or less in old specimens on anterior half of body, but 

 which are distinct on dorsal fin and tail. 



