Uropterygius Eels — Gosline 
225 
needlelike vomerine teeth far forward, though 
not in other characters, these two species 
somewhat resemble U. sealei , U. tigrinus , and 
U. polyspilus. 
In the Hawaiian Islands this species occurs 
commonly in about 25 to 75 feet of water, but 
it was taken at a much shallower depth at 
Johnston Island, probably because of the very 
different reef conditions there. 
Uropterygius marmoratus (Lacepede) 
TYPE LOCALITY: New Britain. 
synonym?: Ichthyophis pantherinus Lesson. 
No specimens seen. 
Lacepede’s original description, based on 
Commerson, is of a marbled brown and white 
Uropterygius , a meter in length, with needlelike 
teeth. Lacepede’s name has been applied to 
various members of the genus. Here, it is 
identified with the species called Gymnomu- 
raena marmorata by Weber and de Beaufort 
(1916: 397, figs. 193, 194) and presumably 
represented by the larger specimens listed un- 
der Uropterygius marmoratus by Schultz (1943: 
33; 1953: 155). The following combination of 
characters would seem to be distinctive for 
this species: large size, anus in front of middle 
of length, many rowed teeth, and gill openings 
about halfway up the sides. It would appear to 
be most similar to U. supraforatus. 
In recent years Schultz (1943, 1953) has ap- 
parently confused two species in his accounts 
of U. marmoratus under the impression (mis- 
taken, I believe) that the teeth and tooth 
rows increase with age. I can find no support 
for this supposition in available material of 
any species of Uropterygius . 
Uropterygius inornatus new species 
Table 2, Figs, le, 2 a 
holotype: U.S.N.M. 175007, 187 mm. total 
length, off Waikiki reef, Oahu, in 25-35 ft. of 
water, Dec. 31, 1952, Gosline, Brock, Randall, 
et al. 
paratypes: University of Hawaii No. 1686, 
2 specimens, 108 and 129 mm., with the same 
data as the holotype; U.H. No. 1788, 1 speci- 
men, 107 mm., cove 1 mi. north of Kailua, 
Hawaii, in 12-30 ft. of water, June 19, 1953, 
Brock, Gosline, etaly U.H. No. 2362, 2 speci- 
mens, 117 and 189 mm., l A mi. off Hawaiian 
Village, Waikiki, in 25-30 ft. of water, Sept. 
7, 1951, Herald, Harry, Brock, Gosline, et al. 
A very slender eel, heaviest just behind the 
head, and distinctly smaller near the tail (see 
Table 2). Caudal fin rays extending at least 
one eye diameter beyond the tip of the last 
vertebra. 
The posterior nostril has no raised rim and 
opens above the middle of the eye; there is no 
lateral-line pore near it. The eye lies nearer the 
corner of the mouth than to the tip of snout, 
but the gape extends at least an eye diameter 
behind the eye. The usual lateral-line pores 
are present on the head, but on the jaws there 
are only 5 (sometimes 4 or 3) pores on each 
side instead of the usual 6. A single open 
lateral-line pore is present in front of and 
above the gill opening, as is normal for 
Uropterygius. The gill opening lies slightly 
above the midline of the sides. 
The teeth are uniserial on the sides of the 
mouth. The only needlelike teeth are a few at 
the front of each jaw. There are no vomerine 
teeth in any of the six specimens. 
The color is a plain, uniform brown though 
the tip of the tail and the chin are a lighter 
brown. 
The uniserial teeth on the sides of the jaws 
and the absence of vomerine teeth in this 
species seem to be unique for Uropterygius. 
The closest relative of U. inornatus appears to 
be U. concolor Riippell. (Certain counts and 
measurements of the only available specimen 
of the latter species, from Onotoa in the Gil- 
bert Islands, are given in Table 2 for compari- 
son.) U. concolor exactly duplicates U. inor- 
natus in color, but appears to be a stockier, 
longer-headed eel with vomerine teeth and 
with a second, inner row of larger teeth run- 
ning at least two-thirds of the way back in 
each jaw. 
The name is derived from the Latin word 
inornatus , meaning undecorated. 
