Nettenchelys taylori Alcock 1898

Smith, David G., Lin, James, Chen, Hong-Ming & Pogonoski, John J., 2015, The eels of the genus Nettenchelys, with description of a new species from Taiwan (Teleostei: Anguilliformes: Nettastomatidae), Zootaxa 4060 (1), pp. 105-120 : 118

Nettenchelys taylori Alcock 1898

( Figs. 1 , 8 )

Nettenchelys taylori Alcock 1898: 150 (Indian Ocean, India, off Travancore Coast, 7°17'30”N, 76°54'30"E, depth 786 m). Holotype ZSI F 317l/1 (female, 533 mm, incomplete). Alcock 1899: pl. 25, Fig. 5 ; Smith et al. 1981: 557.

Material. Known only from the holotype.

Diagnosis. Anterior vomerine teeth not uniserial; posterior nostril far behind head, midway between dorsal-fin origin and anus. See Table 1 for additional characters.

Distribution. Off the southwestern tip of India.

Remarks. This was the first species of Nettenchelys to be described, and it has not been collected since. It is distinguished by the extreme posterior displacement of the posterior nostril.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Position of the posterior nostrils in nine species of the genus Nettenchelys (modified after Karmovskaya, 1999). (a) N. pygmaea, N. proxima; (b) N. gephyra and N. dionisi; (c) N. inion; (d) N. paxtoni; (e) N. exoria; (f) N. erroriensis; and (g) N. taylori.

FIGURE 5. Nettenchelys proxima new species, holotype, NMMST P- 01524, 251 mm TL, immature female, Taiwan. A, lateral view of whole body; B, lateral view of head; C, dorsal view of head, arrow showing the position of posterior nostrils. Bar = 10 mm.

FIGURE 8. Nettenchelys taylori, holotype, from Alcock (1899), pl. 25, fig. 5. The apparent separation of the caudal fin from the dorsal and anal fins is an error.