657 
Family NEENCHELIDAE 
Body elongate, anteriorly partly cylindrical, tail somewhat 
compressed* Head tapering* Snout conic* somewhat prominent by 
prominence of ethmoid together with premaxillary plate beyond artic¬ 
ulation with maxillaries* Sye small* Mouth cleft small* Teeth acute, 
few, spaced, uniserial in jaws and on vomer* Tongue not free* Front 
nostrils in short tube near snout tip* Hind nostrils long narrow 
slit before eye* 'fill openings small or medium, lateral, separated by 
wide interspace* Branchial openings in pharynx narrow slits* Lateral 
line present* Dorsal origin we11 behind gill openings* Dorsal, anal 
and caudal confluent* Pectorals present* Vent far behind gill open¬ 
ings, premedian* 
Small eels of the Indo Pacific* 
