Gymnothorax aurocephalus Nashad, Mohapatra, Varghese & Bineesh, 2020

Nashad, M., Mohapatra, Anil, Varghese, Sijo P., Ramalingam, L. & Mohanty, Swarup Ranjan, 2020, A new white-spotted moray eel, Gymnothorax aurocephalus sp. nov. (Muraenidae Muraeninae) from Andaman Sea, India, Zootaxa 4877 (2), pp. 361-372 : 363-366

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4877.2.8
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:91A9E9C5-CF5D-4FEF-BDBD-F0CE3409C3D2
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4425114
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03F96E7B-196E-007A-52A9-FE34FB4353EF
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Gymnothorax aurocephalus Nashad, Mohapatra, Varghese & Bineesh
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Gymnothorax aurocephalus Nashad, Mohapatra, Varghese & Bineesh sp. nov.

( Figs. 1–6 View FIGURE 1 View FIGURE 2 View FIGURE 3 View FIGURE 4 View FIGURE 5 View FIGURE 6 , Table 1)

Common name: Goldenhead moray

Holotype. EBRC /ZSI/ 11800, 723 mm TL, off Swaraj Dweep Island of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (12°39.3’N, 93°03.4’E), collected on-board MFV Blue Marlin on 21 May 2018, by vertical longlining, depth 125–130 m. GoogleMaps

Paratypes. EBRC /ZSI/11801, 1 specimen (745 mm TL), collection details same as holotype; ZSI / ANRC / M/24129, 1 specimen (710 mm TL), off Interview Island , middle Andaman (12°55.3’N, 92°40.2’E), 90 m depth, hand line; FSI/PB GoogleMaps / T/01 /2019, 1 specimen (610 mm TL, tail broken), collection details same as holotype .

Diagnosis: A moderately elongated moray eel of the genus Gymnothorax with the following combination of characters: chocolate brown color overlain with small irregular white spots, having golden skin shadings close to rictus; anus slightly before midbody; pointed and serrated teeth; uniserial teeth on jaws and vomer; vertebral formula 7/61/148–149 ( Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 ).

Description: A moderately sized eel with a cylindrical body and laterally compressed tail ( Fig. 3 View FIGURE 3 ). Dorsal and anal fins are continuous with caudal fin. Dorsal fin commences above the anterior edge of gill opening and the predorsal length is 7.2–7.8 in total length (TL). Anal-fin origin immediately behind anus. Anus is located slightly before midbody and the preanal distance is 1.9–2.0 in TL. Head is broad and head length (HL) is 7.0– 7.9 in TL. Snout blunt, snout length is 4.7–5.2 in HL. Both jaws are almost equal in size. All teeth concealed when mouth is closed. Eyes small, located almost at the midpoint between the snout and the rictus, eye diameter 11.6–12.1 in head length. Anterior nostril tubular and at lateral side of tip of snout, posterior nostril above anterior margin of eye. Gill opening a diagonal slit at midbody level.

Head pores small with body colored rim. Two branchial pores located anterior to and below dorsal-fin origin well before gill opening ( Fig. 4 View FIGURE 4 ); three supraorbital pores, first (ethmoid) pore at tip of snout above lip, second above base of anterior nostril, third in between anterior and posterior nostrils; four infraorbital pores, first just below the base of anterior nostril, second in between anterior nostril and anterior margin of eye, third below the anterior margin of eye, and fourth after posterior margin of eye. There are six mandibular pores, all before rictus.

Teeth pointed and serrated, uniserial in both jaws ( Fig. 5 View FIGURE 5 ). Intermaxillary teeth 5 on each side with one near symphysis, totaling 11 intermaxillary teeth, followed by 8 maxillary teeth on each side, no median intermaxillary teeth. Vomerine teeth uniserial with 8 teeth in holotype; 4–8 in paratypes. Mandibular teeth 18 on each side gradually decreasing in size posteriorly.

Color. The fresh specimens were chocolate brown in color, overlain with small, irregular white spots, having golden shadings close to rictus. The spots start from the snout tip and extend to the entire body including the ventral portion, gill opening, dorsal and anal fins. Both dorsal and anal fins have chocolate brown color similar to body. Head region bears numerous, densely packed golden spots. The spots are widely spaced posteriorly and are comparatively larger than the spots in the head region ( Fig. 6 View FIGURE 6 ). Inside the mouth, the coloration is similar to the body. Tail tip is almost devoid of spots and without any white margin.

Distribution. The specimen is presently known only from the holotype and three paratypes from Swaraj Dweep Island and Interview Island, Andaman Sea, India from a depth of 90–130 m depth.

Etymology. Gymnothorax aurocephalus is named for the golden-colored head of the species.