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PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. IV, October, 1950 
for example My r op his, are of the Muraenich- 
thys type. The superficial similarity between 
the two groups makes the problem of prop- 
erly placing the genera particularly complex. 
Both have no free tongue, have the posterior 
nostril on the upper lip, the dorsal and anal 
confluent around the tip of the tail, and the 
gill opening consisting of a small hole. 
Within the Myrophinae the position of the 
anus and of the origin of the dorsal vary con- 
siderably, and the pectoral fin may be present 
(as in My r op his) or absent (as in Muraenich- 
thys ) ; consequently these characters cannot 
be used to separate the Myrophinae from 
Kaupichthys. 
The only superficial distinction that I can 
find between the groups is the presence in 
the Myrophinae of a swollen gullet supported 
by a basket- like arrangement of the numer- 
ous, long branchiostegal rays (Parr, 1930: 
71), and the absence of these characters in 
the Kaupichthys type of eel Other distin- 
guishing external characters could probably 
be found if adequate comparative material 
were available. 
REFERENCES 
Frost, G. A. 1926. A comparative study of 
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Myers, G. S., and M. H. Storey. 1939. 
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Parr, A. E. 1930. Jugostegalia, an accessory 
skeleton in the gill cover of the eels of the 
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fig. 2. 
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Richardson, J. 1844. The zoology of H 
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— - — — and L. P Woods. 1949. Keys to the 
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new species. Wash . Acad. Set., Jour. 39 
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