The following nine elongate unpatterned muraenid species of the subfamily Muraeninae, including one new species, are recognized from Taiwan and adjacent waters: Gymnothorax albimarginatus (Temminck & Schlegel), G. dorsalis Seale, G. melanosomatus Loh, Shao & Chen, G. phasmatodes (Smith), G. prolatus Sasaki & Amaoka, G. sagmacephalus Böhlke, Pseudechidna brummeri (Bleeker), Strophidon sathete (Hamilton) and G. pseudomelanosomatus new species, described from two specimens. This new moray eel is distinguished from its similar species, G. melanosomatus, by the following features: grey brown body (vs. black), snout length 20.5% (vs. 17.8%) of head length, smaller eye diameter 8.2% (vs. 10.0%) of head length; preanal length 49.5% (vs. 58.5%) total length, and preanal vertebrae 89-89 (vs. 105-109). Phylogenetic relationships of the nine species were examined using nucleotide sequence data from partial sequences of mitochondrial ND5 gene (600 bp), and seven species form COI (600 bp). The genetic analyses suggest that G. pseudomelanosomatus is distinct from G. melanosomatus and the other six species of Gymnothorax. Morphological features and mitogenetic affinities strongly suggest that "G." dorsalis should be placed in Strophidon rather than in Gymnothorax. The results also suggest that employment of ND5 and COI gene sequences are rather useful for identification of species and for obtaining reasonable insights into the phylogeny of the muraenid species.
An annotated checklist of eels, orders Anguilliformes and Saccopharyngiformes, occurring in Taiwanese waters is presented. The checklist is the result of a series of systematic studies conducted by the authors in the past few years. The eel fauna of Taiwan is one of the richest in the world with a total of 206 species in 74 genera and 13 families in Anguilliformes and a single species in Saccopharyngiformes. The most species-rich families are the Muraenidae with 71 species, followed by the Ophichthidae with 60 species, the Congridae with 29 species, and the Synaphobranchidae with 17 species. Moreover, three genera and 42 species have been described based on at least one type specimen collected from Taiwan. Of these, 36 species are recognized as valid and 23 species are known only from Taiwanese waters at present. Historical records of all Taiwanese eel species are reviewed by examining the original descriptions and figures, vouchers, as well as the recently collected specimens, where available. This represents the first detailed checklist of eels from Taiwanese waters.
In this study, the complete mitogenome sequence of the Zebra moray, Gymnomuraena zebra (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae) has been sequenced by the next-generation sequencing method. The assembled mitogenome consisting of 16,576 bp includes 13 protein coding genes, 22 transfer RNAs, and two ribosomal RNAs genes. The overall base composition of Zebra moray is 30.2% for A, 26.8% for C, 17.2% for G, and 25.8% for T and show 80% identities to Kidako moray, Gymnothorax kidako. The complete mitogenome of the Zebra moray provides an essential and important DNA molecular data for further phylogeography and evolutionary analysis for moray eel phylogeny.
In this study, the complete mitogenome sequence of two moray eels of Gymnothorax formosus and Scuticaria tigrina (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae) has been sequenced by the next-generation sequencing method. The assembled mitogenome, with the length of 16,558 bp for G. formosus and 16,521 bp for S. tigrina, shows 78% identity to each other. Both mitogenomes follow the typical vertebrate arrangement, including 13 protein coding genes, 22 transfer RNAs, two ribosomal RNAs genes, and a non-coding control region of D-loop. The length of D-loop is 927 bp (G. formosus) and 850 bp (S. tigrina), which is located between tRNA-Pro and tRNA-Phe. The overall GC content is 45.5% for G. formosus and 47.9% for S. tigrina. Complete mitogenomes of G. formosus and S. tigrina provide essential and important DNA molecular data for further phylogenetic and evolutionary analysis for moray eel.
In this study, the complete mitogenome sequence of the longfang moray, Enchelynassa canina (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae) has been sequenced by the next-generation sequencing method. The length of the assembled mitogenome is 16,592 bp, which includes 13 protein coding genes, 22 transfer RNAs, and 2 ribosomal RNAs genes. The overall base composition of longfang moray is 28.4% for A, 28.0% for C, 18.4% for G, 25.1% for T, and show 82% identities to Kidako moray, Gymnothorax kidako. The complete mitogenome of the longfang moray provides an essential and important DNA molecular data for further phylogeography and evolutionary analysis for moray eel phylogeny.