Uropterygius golanii McCosker & Smith 1997

Smith, David G., Bogorodsky, Sergey V., Mal, Ahmad O. & Alpermann, Tilman J., 2019, Review of the moray eels (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae) of the Red Sea, with description of a new species, Zootaxa 4704 (1), pp. 1-87 : 66-67

Uropterygius golanii McCosker & Smith 1997 — Golani’s Snakemoray

( Figure 43B )

Uropterygius golanii McCosker & Smith 1997: 1011 , fig. 3 (Strait of Jubal, S end of Sinai Peninsula at Ras Muhammed, Egypt, Red Sea, 0–10 m). Holotype, USNM 312830. — Golani & Bogorodsky 2010: 11; Golani & Fricke 2018: 24.

Red Sea material. Israel: HUJ 5266 (2, 426–453, paratypes), Eilat . Egypt: USNM 312830 (1, 404, holotype), Strait of Jubal ; USNM 312831 (1, 291, paratype), Gulf of Aqaba, bay between Marsa Mokrakh and El Himeira [erroneously cited as 31281 in McCosker & Smith 1997] .

Description. In TL: preanal length 2.0–2.1, head length 11–13, body depth at anus 21–25. In head length: snout length 4.5–4.9, eye diameter 11–13, upper-jaw length 2.6–2.7. Pores: LL 1, SO 3, IO 4, POM 6. Vertebrae: predorsal 134–138, pre-anus 60–68, pre-anal fin 136–141, total 145–148.

Body moderate; anus before midlength; gill opening at mid-side. Snout moderate, jaws about equal length. Eye moderate, over middle of upper jaw. Anterior nostril tubular; posterior nostril in a short tube, above mid-eye.

Teeth conical or wedge-shaped, smooth. Intermaxillary teeth in five rows across: a peripheral series of small, wedge-shaped teeth, an intermediate series of 3 teeth on each side, and 3 median teeth. Maxillary teeth uniserial, small and wedge-shaped, continuous with peripheral intermaxillary teeth. Dentary teeth biserial, with 3 larger, conical inner teeth anteriorly and 13–22 smaller, wedge-shaped outer teeth. Vomerine teeth 3–5, uniserial or staggered.

Color: uniform brown, without markings.

Maximum size at least 453 mm.

Distribution and habitat. Found only in the Red Sea, known records from Eilat to southern tip of Ras Muhammad, in shallow water, less than 10 m deep.

Remarks. This species is apparently endemic to the Red Sea, but a closely related form, U. xenodontus Mc-Cosker & Smith, occurs in the central and western Pacific. The dentition of these two species and U. inornatus Gosline is atypical for Uropterygius and more closely resembles the pattern found in many species of Gymnothorax . It is uncommon, known so far only from the type series, and no tissue samples or COI sequences are available for analyzing the phylogenetic relationships of this species.

Figures

FIGURE 43. A: Uropterygius genie, HUJ 5863, preserved holotype, 178 mm TL, Ras Muhammad, Egypt. B: Uropterygius golanii, HUJ 5266, preserved paratype, 426 mm TL, Strait of Jubal, Egypt. Photos by D. Golani.