Untitled - Alaska Resources Library

Order Anguilliformes
Family Placement Uncertain
Thalassenchelys coheni Castle & Raju, 1975. Leaflike Eel. To 30.4 cm (12 in) TL (Castle and Raju 1975).
Western North Pacific to southern British Columbia (west of northern Vancouver Island at 49°59'N,
130°32'W; Mecklenburg et al. 2002) and to Isla Guadalupe, central Baja California (Shimokawa et al.
1995). Epipelagic. Known only from the leptocephalus (larva). Some specimens contain developing
eggs, so transformation to “adult” features may not occur or the adult stage is short-lived (Eschmeyer
and Herald 1983). Molecular data indicate a close affinity of T. coheni with the Serrivomeridae, but more
eels need to be analyzed before making a definite family placement (Obermiller and Pfeiler 2003).
Family Chlopsidae — False Morays
*Chlopsis apterus (Beebe & Tee-Van, 1938). Stripesnout False Moray. To 25 cm (9.8 in) TL (Robertson
and Allen 2002). Tip of Baja California (23°03'N, 109°28'W; Lavenberg 1988) and mouth of Gulf of
California to Colombia (Robertson and Allen 2002). At depths of 80–130 m (262–426 ft; Robertson
and Allen 2002).
*Chlopsis kazunoko Lavenberg, 1988. Kazunoko’s False Moray. To 12 cm (4.7 in) TL. Tip of Baja California and
Jalisco, Mexico to Costa Rica. At depths of 50–100 m (164–328 ft). All in Robertson and Allen (2002).
Family Muraenidae — Morays
*Anarchias galapagensis (Seale, 1940). Hardtail Moray or Minute Moray. To 17 cm (6.7 in) TL (Robertson
and Allen 2002). Lower Gulf of California (McCosker and Rosenblatt in Fischer et al. 1995) to Colombia
(Robertson and Allen 2002), including tip of southern Baja California (Charter and Moser in Moser
1996) and Islas Galápagos (Grove and Lavenberg 1997). At depths of 0–24 m (78 ft) (min.: Robertson
and Allen 2002; max.: SIO 71-87).
*Echidna nebulosa (Ahl, 1789). Snowflake Moray or Starry Moray. To 75 cm (29.5 in) TL (Myers 1999). Indo-
Pacific; Kochi, Japan (Hatooka in Nakabo 2002); Cabo San Lucas, southern Baja California (McCosker
and Rosenblatt in Fischer et al. 1995) to Colombia (Robertson and Allen 2002), including lower Gulf of
California (McCosker and Rosenblatt in Fischer et al. 1995). Surface (SIO 71-84) and intertidal to 30 m
(98 ft) (min.: SIO 78-9; max.: Laboute and Grandperrin 2000).
*Echidna nocturna (Cope, 1872). Freckled Moray or Palenose Moray. To 75 cm (29.5 in) TL (Allen and
Robertson 1994). Gulf of California (McCosker and Rosenblatt in Fischer et al. 1995) to Peru (Allen and
Robertson 1994), including southern tip of Baja California (McCosker and Rosenblatt in Fischer et al.
1995) and Islas Galápagos (Grove and Lavenberg 1997). At depths of 1–30 m (3–98 ft) (min.: SIO 62-9;
max.: McCosker and Rosenblatt in Fischer et al. 1995).
*Enchelycore octaviana (Myers & Wade, 1941). Slenderjaw Moray. To 93 cm (36.6 in) TL (Grove and
Lavenberg 1997). Gulf of California (McCosker and Rosenblatt in Fischer et al. 1995) to Peru (Robertson
and Allen 2002), including southern tip of Baja California (McCosker and Rosenblatt in Fischer et al.
1995) and Islas Galápagos (Grove and Lavenberg 1997). At depths of 2–40 m (7–131 ft) (min.: SIO
65-300; max.: Robertson and Allen 2002).
*Gymnomuraena zebra (Shaw, 1797). Zebra Moray. To 150 cm (59 in) TL (Allen and Robertson 1994). Pacific
and Indian oceans; Gulf of California (McCosker and Rosenblatt in Fischer et al. 1995) to southern tip
of Baja California (McCosker and Rosenblatt in Fischer et al. 1995) and central America to Peru (Grove
and Lavenberg 1997), including Islas Galápagos (Grove and Lavenberg 1997). At depths of 2–40 m (8–
131 ft) (min.: SIO 59-216; max.: Laboute and Grandperrin 2000). Also recently as Echidna zebra.
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