THE FISHES OF PORTO RICO. 
75 
Genus 16. OPHICHTHUS Thunberg & Ahl. 
This genus contains all the ophisuroid eels which have sharp teeth, no marked canines, well- 
developed pectoral fins, and dorsal inserted behind head. The species are very numerous in the 
tropical seas, and many attempts have been made to split the group into smaller genera. Notwith- 
standing the great differences when extremes are compared, these small genera can not be well 
defined. Only one of the ten American species is known from Porto Rico. 
a. Teeth of upper jaw in two or three series. 
b. Teeth of lower jaw uniseriai, or nearly so; vomerine teeth in one series or slightly biserial in front. 
Cryptopterus: 
c. Coloration uniform, or nearly so ; teeth of lower jaw not quite uniserial ; tail half longer than rest of 
body puncticeps 
Ophichthus: 
rr. Coloration not uniform; anterior teeth slightly enlarged; eye rather large, nearly median. 
d. Sides of body with large, round, black spots; head with smaller ones; dorsal inserted opposite tip of pec- 
toral- havannensis 
dd. Sides of body with large, round, whitish spots; dorsal inserted behind tip of pectoral retropinnis 
bb. Teeth of lower jaw in two to four series. 
Mur-ENopsis: 
e. Vomerine teeth in one row; anterior teeth of jaws or vomer sometimes enlarged; teeth in both jaws biserial, 
those of inner series sometimes small and turned inward. 
/. Dorsal beginning an eye’s diameter behind tip of pectoral guttifer 
ff. Dorsal beginning over or just before tip of pectoral ncellatus 
SCYT ALOPHIS : 
ee. Vomerine teeth biserial throughout; teeth in both jaws biserial, subequal; no canines. Color plain-brownish. 
g. Eye large, more than half length of snout. 
li. Head rather short, 2.5 to 3 in trunk gomesii, 18 
hh. Head long, 1.75 to 2.25 in trunk; pectoral a little longer than gape magnioculis 
gg. Eye small, 2.5 in snout; gill-opening narrow; anterior nostril with long tube; pectoral longer than gape... parilis 
18. Ophicthus gomesii (Castelnau). Sea Serpent. 
Head 2.8 in trunk; head and trunk 2 in tail; eye about equal to interorbital space, 1.5 in snout, 
■which is 6 in head; pectoral 2.8 in head; teeth small, sharp and subequal, biserial on each jaw and 
on vomer; upper jaw the longer; pores on head and lower jaw; dorsal and anal very low. 
Color in spirits: Everywhere brownish above, color laid on in a multitude of very small brown 
points somewhat in rows, on a yellow ground; ventral surface yellow with a few brown points; side 
of head and lower jaw with dusky spots; dorsal edge of pectoral with dusky. points. 
South Carolina to Rio Janeiro; generally common, especially about the Florida Keys and Cuba. 
One example 8.5 inches long collected at Mayaguez. 
Ophisurus gomesii Castelnau, Anim. Amer. Sud, 84, pi. 44, fig. 2, 1855, Rio Janeiro. 
Ophisurus chrysops Poey , Memorias, II, 321, 1867, Havana. 
Oxydontichthys brachyurus Poey, Synopsis, 426, 1868, Havana. 
OxydonticMhys macrurus Poey, Anal. Soc. Hist. Nat. Esp. , 1880, 254, Havana. 
Ophicthus gomesii , Jordan & Evermann, 1. c., 384, 1896. 
Family XIV. MIMNIM. The Morays. 
The Mursenidse represent the most degenerate type of eels so far as the skeleton is concerned, and 
are doubtless the farthest removed from the more typical fishes from which the eels have descended. 
The essential characters of the family are thus stated by Dr. Gill: “ Colocephalous apodals with conic 
head, fully developed opercular apparatus, long and wide ethmoid, posterior maxillines, pauciserial 
teeth, roundish, lateral branchial apertures, diversiform vertical fins, pectoral fins (typically) sup- 
pressed, scaleless skin, restricted interbranchial slits, and very imperfect branchial skeleton, with the 
fourth branchial arch modified, strengthened, and supporting pharyngeal jaws.” 
The morays may be readily distinguished from other eels by their small round gill-openings and 
by absence of pectorals. The body and fins are covered by a thick leathery skin, the occipital region 
is elevated through the development of the strong muscles which move the lower jaw, and the jaws are 
usually narrow and armed with knife-like or else molar teeth. They inhabit tropical and subtropical 
waters, being especially abundant in crevices about coral reefs. Many of the species reach a large 
size, and all are voracious and pugnacious. Coloration usually strongly marked, the color cells being 
highly specialized. Only two of the eight American genera represented in Porto Rico. 
