1005 
Family ECHIDNIDAE 
Body compressed or cylindrical. Head conic. Mouth 
terminal, with lateral cleft reaching beyond eye. Maxill¬ 
ary articulates with ethmo-vomer some distance from snout 
end. Teeth strong, acute or obtuse, in 1 or more rows. 
Nostrils lateral. Gill openings well separated. Pharyn¬ 
geal apertures of gill clefts restricted. Upper and lower 
pharyngeals with strong curved teeth in double row, elong¬ 
ated, supported by enlarged epibranchials and ceratobranchials 
of fourth arch. Frontal bone paired. Palato-pterygoid very 
slender, nearly vestigial. Neural spines developed in caudal 
region only, short, laminar. Caudal vertebrae with lateral 
transverses extensions. Skin naked, thick, usually tough. 
Vertical fins various. No pectorals. 
« 
A large family of tropical or subtropical eels, living 
chiefly among rocks and coral reefs. Many are large and 
powerful, capable of inflicting dangerous wounds with their 
formidable teeth. Many are also strinkingly colored. 
The following specimen unidentifis.ble: 
r 
One example. Nan Wan, Formosa. June 27, 1910. Length 
39 mm. 
v 
