Fam. 10. MURAENIDAE.

Morays.

Body more or less compressed. Snout conical. Cleft of mouth usually large. Skin thick, leathery. Tongue absent. Scales absent. Gill-slits small, roundish, lateral. Lateral line obsolete. Teeth strong, conical or obtuse, in one or more series in both jaws and on vomer. Nostrils superolateral, the anterior tubular, the posterior with or without a tube. Vent far from head. Body longer than tail. Dorsal and anal fins embedded in thick skin, confluent around tail, sometimes greatly reduced or present only at end of tail. Pectorals absent. Frontals paired. Palato-pterygoid almost vestigial. Caudal vertebrae with transverse processes.

A large family of temperate and tropical forms especially numerous in regions of coral reefs. They are often of large size and brilliant coloration, and their strong dentition and pugnacious temperament necessitates careful handling when they are captured.

The teeth are often very variable and especially so at different stages of growth. Young specimens usually have more series of teeth than adults. The large teeth in front of the upper jaw frequently get pushed out from the centre into the outer row in adults. Too much reliance, therefore, must not be placed upon this character in identifying single specimens.

The typical genus Muraena (M. helena of the Mediterranean), characterised by having well-developed fins, conical teeth, and both pairs of nostrils tubular, is not represented in our fauna.

Key to the South African genera.

I. Vertical fins well developed and conspicuous.

A. Teeth mostly conical.

1. Tail not greatly longer than body.

2. Very elongate. Tail twice length of body

B. Teeth mostly blunt

II. Vertical fins greatly reduced, visible only at end of tail .

Gen. GYMNOTHORAX Bl.

1795. Bloch, Ausl. Fische., vol. ix, p. 83.

Vertical fins well developed. Tail about as long as body. Eye about in middle of cleft of mouth. Teeth mostly conical. Posterior nostril not tubular.

This genus comprises the majority of the Morays.

Although the species hitherto recorded from South Africa are few and comparatively easy to identify (undulatus and flavomarginatus causing the most difficulty), as time goes on other species of this large genus will most certainly be discovered. Many of the species are very difficult to separate on account of the great variability in coloration and pattern. The remarks made on the teeth under the family must also be borne in mind in comparing specimens with the following descriptions.

Key to the South African species.

I. Teeth in upper jaw biserial for greater part of jaw. Well-defined whitish spots.

II. Teeth in upper jaw uniserial (occasionally one or two in an inner row anteriorly). A. No teeth on vomer. Well-defined white spots posteriorly

B. Teeth on vomer.

1. Well-defined polygonal or round black spots.
2. Irregular mottling, reticulation or vermiculation.
a. Without well-marked canines

b. With well-marked canines.

i. Gill-slit not in a black spot

ii. Gill-slit in a black spot.

Gymnothorax meleagris (Shaw).

1864. Bleeker, Atl.

fig. 2 (chlorostigma).

Spotted Eel or Moray.

nudivomer.

favagineus.

pictus.

undulatus.

flavomarginatus.

Ichthyol., vol. iv, p. 97, Muraen., pl. xxxiv,

1917. Gilchrist and Thompson, Ann. Durban Mus., vol. i, pt. 4, p. 304 (references).

Length of head 2-3 in distance from gill-slit to vent. Tail rather longer than rest of body. Eye 2 in snout, 1 in interorbital width. Snout 2 in cleft of mouth, which is almost half length of head. Mouth not completely closing. Teeth biserial in upper jaw, uniserial in lower jaw and on vomer, depressible canines in front. Vertebrae 120. Length. Up to 570 mm.

Colour.-Dark brown, with innumerable tiny white (in spirit) dots about the size of a pin's head, rather widely spaced on tail and becoming more thickly set on body and extending all over head, snout, and lower jaw.

Locality.-Natal coast.

Distribution.-Indo-Pacific.

Three similar specimens in the South African Museum, two of which

served as a basis for Gilchrist and Thompson's description in Ann. S. Afr. Mus., vol. xi, pt. 2, p. 53, 1911. The above description is taken from these specimens and differs slightly from that usually given; e.g. most authors except Bleeker say the mouth can be completely closed. The white dots also are considerably smaller than is implied in other descriptions and in Bleeker's figure. In fact, the resemblance in all respects is very close to Günther's description (Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., vol. viii, p. 101) of flavopicta, except that in that species the head is reticulated with dark lines. It also bears considerable superficial resemblance to punctata (Bl. Schn.) (see Day, Fish. Ind., p. 669, pl. clxxiii, fig. 1), but is distinguished by the biserial teeth in the upper jaw.

*Gymnothorax stellifera (Rich.).

Pearl-spotted Moray.

1844. Richardson, Voy. Erebus and Terror, Fish., p. 86. 1864. Bleeker, Ned. Tydschr. Dierk., vol. ii, p. 53 (margaritophorus). 1864. Id., Atlas Ichthyol., vol. iv, p. 97; Muraen., pl. xxxi, fig. 1 (idem).

Length of head 21-23 in distance from gill-slit to vent. Tail a little longer than rest of body. Eye 12 in snout. Snout 2 in cleft of mouth, which is 3 in length of head. Mouth not completely closing. Teeth uniserial in both jaws and on vomer, except for an inner row of 4–5 in upper jaw, canines strong.

Length.-Up to 150 mm.

Colour.-Brown, with 4 regular longitudinal series of pale bluish spots about the size of the eye, sometimes a brown interrupted stripe from eye to gill-slit.

Locality.-Zululand coast. An example from Kosi Bay is in the British Museum.

Distribution.-Madagascar and East Indies.

Gymnothorax nudivomer (Gnthr.).

1866. Günther, Fish. Zanzibar, p. 127, pl. xviii.

1917. Gilchrist and Thompson, Ann. Durban Mus., vol. i, pt. 4, p. 305 (references).

Tail

Length of head nearly 3 in distance from gill-slit to vent. a little longer than rest of body. Eye nearly 3 in snout. Snout 52, cleft of mouth nearly 3 in length of head. Mouth completely closing.

VOL. XXI, PART 1.

14

Teeth uniserial on both jaws, the anterior ones serrated, 2–3 additional teeth in front of jaws not markedly canine, no vomerine teeth.

Length.-Up to 908 mm.

Colour.-Head and front part of body white, with small brown spots and lines, hinder part of body, tail, and fins brown, with white ovate spots. larger than eye, more or less closely set or even confluent. Locality.-Natal coast.

Distribution.-East coast of Africa.

Gymnothorax favagineus Bl. Schn.
Tessellate Moray.

1845. Richardson, Voy. Sulphur, Ichthyol., p. 108, pl. xlviii, fig. 1; and pl. lv, figs. 5-8 (tessellata and isingteena).

1864. Bleeker, Alt. Ichthyol., vol. iv, pp. 92, 93; Muraen., pl. xxvii, fig. 3, pl. xxviii, fig. 1, pl. xxxvii, fig. 1 (tessellata and isingteena). 1917. Gilchrist and Thompson, Ann. Durban Mus., vol. i, pt. 4, p. 303 (references).

Length of head 23 in distance from gill-slit to vent. Tail about equal to rest of body. Eye 21-23 in snout, 13-2 in interorbital width. Snout 2 in cleft of mouth which is 2 in length of head. Mouth completely closing. Teeth uniserial in both jaws and on vomer, depressible canines in front. (Plate IX, fig. 4.)

Length.-Up to 1170 mm.

Colour. Whole body with large polygonal or roundish black blotches, with narrow intervening reticulations of white or yellowish ground colour. The pattern is continued over the lips on to the floor and roof of the mouth.

Locality.-Port Alfred and Natal coast.

Distribution.-Indo-Pacific.

The largest specimen in the Museum (1170 mm.) has a double row of teeth on the vomer.

*Gymnothorax pictus (Ahl).
Ocellate Moray.

1789. Ahl, De Muraen. Ophichth. in Thunb. Dissert., vol. iii, p. 6, pl. ii, fig. 2.

1864. Bleeker, Atl. Ichthyol., vol. iv, p. 87; Muraen., pl. xxvi, figs. 3, 4, pl. xxviii, fig. 3, pl. 29, fig. i, pl. xlv, fig. 3.

1864. Id., ibid., p. 96, pl. xxx, fig. 3 (polyophthalmus=juv. pictus).

1870. Günther, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., vol. viii, p. 116 (references). 1878-88. Day, Fish. India, p. 672, pl. clxxii, fig. 4.

1905. Jordan and Evermann, Bull. U.S. Fish. Comm., 1903, vol. xxiii, pt. 1, p. 103, pl. xix (references).

1917. Gilchrist and Thompson, Ann. Durban Mus., vol. i, pt. 4, p. 305 (polyophthalmus).

Length of head 2 in distance from gill-slit to vent. Tail about as long as body. Eye 2 in snout. Cleft of mouth nearly 3 in length of head. Teeth uniserial, without well-marked canines, the vomerine series usually bifurcate anteriorly with short and blunt teeth.

Length.-Up to 250 mm.

Colour.-Brownish with innumerable very small black spots more or less confluent into larger spots, often with indistinct series of light, black-edged ocelli which, however, are more conspicuous in the young (polyophthalmus).

Locality.-Natal coast.

Distribution.-Indo-Pacific.

*Gymnothorax undulatus (Lacép.).

Undulate Moray.

1803. Lacépède, Hist. Nat. Poiss., vol. v, pp. 629, 644.

1844. Richardson, Voy. Erebus and Terror, Fish., p. 87, pl. 46 (cancellatus).

1864. Bleeker, Atl. Ichthyol., vol. iv, p. 93; Muraen., pl. xxxii, fig. 3, pl. xxxiii, fig. 2, pl. xxxix, fig. 1 (cancellatus).

1864. Id., ibid., p. 95, pl. xli, fig. 2 (agassizi).

1870. Günther, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., vol. viii, p. 110 (references and synonymy).

1878-88. Day, Fish. Ind., p. 671, pl. clxxi, fig. 5, pl. clxxiii, fig. 2.

1905. Jordan and Evermann, Bull. U.S. Fish. Comm., 1903, vol. xxiii, pt. 1, p. 98, pl. xvi (references).

Length of head 2 in distance from gill-slit to vent. Tail a little longer than body. Eye 12 in snout. Snout 2 in cleft of mouth, which is a little over 2 in length of head. Mouth completely closing. Teeth uniserial, with sometimes an inner series of 2 in upper jaw, depressible canines in front. Vertebrae 132.

Length.-Up to 900 mm.

Colour.-Dark brown, very variously speckled, reticulated or undulated with yellowish lines, more or less forming vertical or