Enchelycore propinqua, Tudu, Prasad C., 2017

Tudu, Prasad C., 2017, Enchelycore propinqua sp. nov., a new moray eel (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae: Muraeninae) from the Indian Coast, Zootaxa 4319 (3), pp. 595-599 : 596-598

Enchelycore propinqua sp. nov.

Proposed common name: Indian hook-teeth moray (Figs. 1–3)

Holotype. ZSIF 12113 /2 (170 mm), Visakhapatnam fishing harbour (actual trawl site is not known), Andhra Pradesh, India, 0 6 December 2016.

Diagnosis. Enchelycore propinqua sp. nov. has the following combination of characters: body reddish brown mottled with irregular creamy white spots along entire length; slightly darker cross bands dorsally alternating with paler interspaces, distinct in anterior part; anus at about mid-point of body; snout blunt; eyes small and slightly closer to tip of snout than to rictus; jaws slightly arched, mouth not entirely closed when jaw tips meet; dorsal-fin origin considerably behind gill opening, but well before level of anus; sharply pointed recurved teeth; biserial intermaxillary and maxillary teeth, those of inner row larger and more widely spaced than outer row; two fang-like median intermaxillary teeth, 6 large fang-like vomerine teeth; dentary teeth biserial with inner row more widely spaced than outer row. Pre-dorsal vertebrae 20, pre-anal vertebrae 51 and total vertebrae 120.

FIGURE 1. Enchelycore propinqua sp. nov. (A, lateral view [original photograph reversed]; B, lateral head view; C,teeth in upper and lower jaws).

FIGURE 2. Lateral view of head and head pores of Enchelycore propinqua sp. nov. (AN = anterior nostril, BP = branchial pores, IOP = infraorbital pores, MP = mandibular pores, PN = posterior nostril, SOP = supraorbital pores)

FIGURE 3. Dentition on upper jaw and lower jaw of Enchelycore propinqua sp. nov.

Description. Proportions of total length: preanal length 2.1 predorsal length 5.0, head length 7.4, depth at gill opening 34, depth at anus 34. In head length: snout 6.6, horizontal eye diameter 15.3, upper jaw length 3.3, lower jaw length 3.3. Vertebrae: predorsal 20, preanal 51, total 120.

Body slender, elongate and tapering, anus at about midpoint. Dorsal and anal fins continuous with caudal fin around tail tip; dorsal-fin origin considerably behind gill opening, but well before level of anus; anal-fin origin immediately behind anus; pectoral and pelvic fins absent. Snout blunt, eye small, lower jaw and upper jaw almost equal in size; jaws slightly arched, mouth not entirely closed when jaw tips meet. Anterior nostril tubular and long, nearly reaching tip of snout. Posterior nostril a simple round pore, situated above anterior margin of eye. Gill opening a small slit on both sides below mid-line. Branchial pores 2 about between rictus and gill opening; no additional lateral-line pores on body. Supraorbital pores 3: first (ethmoidal) near tip of snout just above lip, second above base of anterior nostril, third on snout midway between anterior and posterior nostrils. Infraorbital pores 4: first just behind base of anterior nostril, second on upper lip about midway between anterior nostril and anterior edge of eye, third below anterior margin of eye, fourth below posterior margin of eye. Mandibular pores 6, all before rictus.

The dental pattern is shown in Fig. 3. Teeth in jaws smooth, recurved,fang-like and depressible. Intermaxillary and maxillary teeth biserial, with two median fang-like intermaxillary teeth. Teeth of inner row of both intermaxillary and maxillary larger and more widely spaced than those of outer row. Intermaxillary with 3 large fang-like teeth in inner row on each side and 9 comparatively small teeth in outer row on each side. Outer row of maxillary teeth with 35 on each side, and inner row with 11 larger and more widely spaced teeth on each side. Inner row of maxillary teeth extends almost to end of outer row. Six large fang-like vomerine teeth. Dentary teeth biserial, outer row with 34 on each side and inner row with 14 larger and more widely spaced teeth on each side.

Colour. Reddish brown body mottled with irregular creamy white spots over entire length; slightly darker cross bands dorsally alternated with paler interspaces, distinct in anterior part; darker dorsally, lighter ventrally; white spots prominent on throat and abdomen; upper and lower jaw with three corresponding deep brown bands; tail tip light.

Distribution. The species is currently known only from the holotype taken along the Andhra Pradesh coast of India in the Bay of Bengal.

Etymology. The Latin word ‘ propinquus ’ (feminine propinqua ) means alike, resembling, close, akin, allied, or similar [from prop(e) (“near”) + (h)inc (“hence”) + -uus]. Since the genus-group name is feminine, the species name is also feminine. The new species resembles in coloration and tooth pattern with some Anarchias species, and thus the name.