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PROCEEDINGS OF THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES<br />
Series 4, Volume 63, No. 9, pp. 321–328, 6 figs. October 14, 2016<br />
Chauligenion camelopardalis, a New Genus and Species<br />
of Deepwater Snake Eel (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae)<br />
from the East China Sea<br />
John E. McCosker 1 ,* and Makoto Okamoto 2<br />
1 California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California 94118; E-mail: jmccosker@calacademy.org<br />
2 Seikai National Fisheries Research Institute, Nagasaki 851-2213, Japan; E-mail: jitabagu@yahoo.co.jp<br />
* Corresponding author<br />
A new genus and species of ophichthid eel, Chauligenion camelopardalis McCosker<br />
and Okamoto, is described based on a specimen trawled at 150 m off western Okinawa.<br />
It differs from other ophichthids in its elongation, its pointed tail and snout,<br />
lower jaw extension, anterior nostril condition, elongate jaws, gill arch reduction,<br />
vertical gill openings, numerous small closely packed teeth, lack of pectoral fins, and<br />
its yellowish-tan coloration overlain with rows of brown spots. It is similar to genera<br />
of the tribe Ophichthini; however, we are unable to assign it with confidence.<br />
Keywords: Fish taxonomy, Ophichthidae, Chauligenion camelopardalis, genus and sp.<br />
nov, East China Sea.<br />
The snake eels of the family Ophichthidae are the most diverse and speciose family of anguilliform<br />
fishes, occupying tropical and subtropical habitats including nearshore sand and mud bottoms,<br />
rivers and streams, and estuaries and coral reefs, ranging from the sandy intertidal to midwater<br />
depths of 800 m and to more than 1000 m in the benthos. Most, however, live shallower than<br />
200 m. The family was revised on the basis of its osteology, morphology and meristics by<br />
McCosker (1977), who recognized 49 genera and more than 200 species. Subsequent discoveries<br />
and generic revisions have elevated those numbers to 61 genera and nearly 300 valid species. The<br />
capture of a remarkably distinctive individual by a bottom trawl at 150 m in the East China Sea has<br />
resulted in an additional genus and species. It is so unique that we are unable to assign it a tribal<br />
rank, and will be unable to do so until additional material is collected.<br />
METhOdS aNd MaTErIalS<br />
Measurements are straight-line, made either with a 300 mm ruler with 0.5 mm gradations (for total<br />
length, trunk length, and tail length) and recorded to the nearest 0.5 mm, or with dial calipers (all other<br />
measurements) and recorded to the nearest 0.1 mm. Body length comprises head and trunk lengths.<br />
head length (hl) is measured from the snout tip to the posterodorsal margin of the gill opening; trunk<br />
length is taken from the end of the head to mid-anus; maximum body depth does not include the median<br />
fins. head-pore terminology follows that of McCosker et al. (1989:257) such that the supraorbital<br />
pores are expressed as the ethmoid pore + pores in supraorbital canal, e.g., 1 + 3, and the infraorbital<br />
pores are expressed as pores along the upper jaw + those in vertical part of canal behind eye (the<br />
“postorbital pores”), e.g., 4 + 2, in that frequently the last pore included along the upper jaw is part of<br />
the postorbital series. Osteological examination of the gill arches involved clearing and counterstain-<br />
321
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