Additions to the Taiwan eel fauna with five newly recorded species of moray eels (Anguilliformes:Muraenidae), and redescription of a rare species Gymnothorax sagmacephalus.

Abstract

Five rare moray species: Anarchias cantonensis (Schultz), Gymnothorax dorsalis Seale, G. intesi (Fourmanoir & Rivaton), G. phasmatodes (Smith) and G. sagmacephalus (Böhlke) belonging to the subfamilies Uropterygiinae and Muraeninae are reported for the first time in the surrounding waters off Taiwan. Diagnoses of these five species, including fresh coloration and dentition, are provided. A re-description of G. sagmacephalus is provided since its original description, based on the single holotype, was incomplete specifically due to its damaged tail. With the added 12 specimens, we provided the statistics of the morphological measurements and vertebral formulae, and expanded its geographical distribution from Japan southward to Taiwan