Revised 8 Nov. 2024
PDF version (with illustrations and additional information)
Tailfin Moray Eels
Subfamily UROPTERYGIINAE Fowler 1925
Anarchias Jordan & Starks 1906 án (Gr. privative, ἄν), i.e., without; archós (Gr. ἀρχός), anus, referring to apparent lack of anal fin (anal fin is restricted to tip of tail)
Anarchias allardicei Jordan & Starks 1906 in honor of Scottish mathematician Robert Edgar Allardice (1862–1928), Jordan’s colleague at Stanford University, who helped collect holotype
Anarchias cantonensis (Schultz 1943) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Canton Island, Phoenix Islands, central Pacific Ocean, type locality
Anarchias exulatus Reece, Smith & Holm 2010 Latin for banished or exiled, referring to its anti-tropical distribution, restricted to outer fringes of the Indo-West Pacific faunal region
Anarchias galapagensis (Seale 1940) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Post Office Bay, Santa María Island (now called Floreana Island), Galápagos Islands, type locality
Anarchias leucurus (Snyder 1904) white-tailed, from leukós (Gr. λευκός), white, and urus, from ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, referring to white anal fin around tail
Anarchias longicauda (Peters 1877) longus (L.), long; cauda (L.), tail, referring to its long tail, longer than its body
Anarchias schultzi Reece, Smith & Holm 2010 in honor of American ichthyologist Leonard P. Schultz (1901–1986), Curator of Fishes, U.S. National Museum, who described the first species of the A. cantonensis group and collected extensively in the west-central Pacific
Anarchias seychellensis Smith 1962 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Assumption Island, Aldabra Islands, Seychelles, type locality
Anarchias similis (Lea 1913) Latin for like or similar, presumably similar to Leptocephalus euryurus (=A. longicauda), also described by Lea
Anarchias supremus McCosker & Stewart 2006 Latin for uppermost, referring to its having the most vertebrae of any known congener
Channomuraena Richardson 1848 channos, from chaínō (Gr. χαίνω), yawn or gape, referring to huge gaping jaws of C. vittata; muraena (L.), from mýraina ύραινα), Greek name of Muraena helena and precursor to “moray”
Channomuraena bauchotae Saldanha & Quéro 1994 in honor of Marie-Louise Bauchot (b. 1928), friend, colleague, ichthyologist, and assistant manager, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (Paris), “to whom the world of ichthyology owes a considerable debt” (translation)
Channomuraena vittata (Richardson 1845) Latin for banded, referring to 13–16 irregular dark bands encircling body behind eye
Cirrimaxilla Chen & Shao 1995 cirrus (L.), tuft of hair or fringe; maxilla (L.), jaw, referring to beard-like jaws, with many cirri
Cirrimaxilla formosa Chen & Shao 1995 referring to both formosa (L.), beautiful, referring to its “graceful appearance,” and Formosa, from Ilha Formosa (“beautiful island”), English name of Taiwan (type locality) into the 20th century
Scuticaria Jordan & Snyder 1901 –aria (L.), pertaining to: scutica (L.), whip, referring to whip-like body (elongate, nearly cylindrical, with apparent absence of fins)
Scuticaria okinawae (Jordan & Snyder 1901) of Okinawa Island, Ryukyu Islands, Japan, type locality
Scuticaria tigrina (Lesson 1828) Latin for tiger-like, referring to its tiger-like coloration, yellowish to russet brown with yellow-edged black spots
Uropterygius Rüppell 1838 uro, from ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail; pterygion, diminutive of ptéryx (Gr. πτέρυξ), wing or fin, referring to how dorsal and anal fins are restricted to tip of tail
Uropterygius alboguttatus Smith 1962 albus (L.), white; guttatus (L.), spotted or speckled, referring to numerous subcircular small white spots on head and body in young (partly obsolete on body with age), and whitish blotches on the head
Uropterygius concolor Rüppell 1838 Latin for colored uniformly, referring to uniform brown coloration (excepting yellow tip of tail)
Uropterygius cyamommatus Huang, Liao & Tan 2023 bean-eyed, from cyamo-, from kúamos (Gr. κῠ́ᾰμος), bean, and ómmata (Gr. ὄμματα), eye, referring to its tiny bean-shaped eyes
Uropterygius fasciolatus (Regan 1909) diminutive of fasciatus (L.), banded, i.e., with small bands, referring to numerous narrow undulating dark crossbands on body, some of which are broken into spots
Uropterygius fuscoguttatus Schultz 1953 fuscus (L.), dusky, dark or swarthy; guttatus (L.), spotted or speckled, referring to mostly dark-brown color with darker brown spots approaching the tail
Uropterygius genie Randall & Golani 1995 in honor of American ichthyologist Eugenia (Genie) B. Böhlke (1929–2001), Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, for her research on muraenid eels [a noun in apposition, without the genitive “ae”]
Uropterygius golanii McCosker & Smith 1997 in honor of Israeli ichthyologist Daniel Golani, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who first brought specimens of this eel to the authors’ attention
Uropterygius inornatus Gosline 1958 Latin for unadorned, referring to its plain, uniform-brown coloration
Uropterygius kamar McCosker & Randall 1977 Arabic for moon, referring to the moon-like quality of the volcanic islands of Archipel des Comores, Comoran Republic, where much of the type series was captured
Uropterygius macrocephalus (Bleeker 1864) big-headed from makrós (Gr. μακρός), long or large, and kephalḗ (Gr. κεφαλή), head, having the largest head among congeners known to Bleeker
Uropterygius mactanensis Huang, Balisco, Evacitas & Liao 2023 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Mactan Island, Cebu, Philippines, type locality
Uropterygius macularius (Lesueur 1825) Latin for spotty, referring to “spots of dirty white on the back, forming a kind of chain”
Uropterygius marmoratus (Lacepède 1803) Latin for marbled, referring to brown and white mottling on body and tail
Uropterygius micropterus (Bleeker 1852) small-finned, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small, and pterus, from pterón (Gr. πτερόν) or ptéryx (πτέρυξ), fin, referring to rudimentary dorsal, anal and caudal fins
Uropterygius nagoensis Hatooka 1984 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: a fish market in Nago, Okinawa Island, Ryukyu Islands, Japan, where holotype was landed by long line fishing
Uropterygius oligospondylus Chen, Randall & Loh 2008 olígos (Gr. ὀλίγος), few or scanty; spóndylos (Gr. σπόνδυλος), vertebra, referring to fewest vertebrae (100–103) among known congeners
Uropterygius polyspilus (Regan 1909) polý– (Gr. πολύ), many; spílos (Gr. σπίλος), mark or spot, referring to large dark brownish or purplish spots forming 2–3 irregular series on sides
Uropterygius polystictus Myers & Wade 1941 many-spotted, from polý– (Gr. πολύ), many, and stiktós (Gr. στικτός), marked or spotted, referring to numerous brownish black spots of irregular size and shape, particularly on head and upper half of body
Uropterygius supraforatus (Regan 1909) supra- (L.), above; foratus (L.), bored (i.e., perforated), allusion not explained, probably referring to high location of gill-opening, “much nearer dorsal than ventral profile”
Uropterygius versutus Bussing 1991 Latin for crafty or sly, referring to its cryptic behavior and inconspicuous coloration
Uropterygius wheeleri Blache 1967 in honor of Alwyne C. Wheeler (1929–2005), Curator of Fishes at the British Museum (Natural History), in gratitude of “many services” (translation)
Uropterygius xanthopterus Bleeker 1859 yellow-finned, from xanthós (Gr. ξανθός), yellow, and pterus, from pterón (Gr. πτερόν) or ptéryx (πτέρυξ), fin, referring to its “nice yellow fins” (translation)
Uropterygius xenodontus McCosker & Smith 1997 xenikós (Gr. ξενικός), strange or foreign (i.e., different); odontos, Latinized and grammatically adjusted from the Greek nominative ὀδούς (odoús), tooth, referring to its nearly wedge-shaped rather than conical teeth, unique in the genus
Moray Eels
Subfamily MURAENINAE Rafinesque 1815
Diaphenchelys McCosker & Randall 2007 diáphoros (Gr. διάφορος), different, referring to anatomical characteristics among muraenids (e.g., slender, elongate body) and unusual habitat preference (mud slopes) of D. pelonates; enchelys (Gr.), eel
Diaphenchelys dalmatian Hibino, Satapoomin & Kimura 2017 a breed of speckled dog, referring to its brown dalmatian-like spots on a white background
Diaphenchelys laimospila Huang, Smith & Liao 2021 laimós (Gr. λαιμός ), throat; spílos (Gr. σπίλος), mark or spot, referring to dense whitish spots on throat
Diaphenchelys pelonates McCosker & Randall 2007 pēlós (Gr. πηλός), clay, earth or mud; nates, from naétēs (Gr. νᾰέτης), dweller or inhabitant, referring to its muddy habitat
Echidna Forster 1788 échidna (Gr. ἔχιδνα), viper or adder, allusion not explained, possibly referring to their typical snake-like shape
Echidna amblyodon (Bleeker 1856) amblýs (Gr. ἀμβλύς), blunt; odon, Latinized and grammatically adjusted from the Greek nominative ὀδούς (odoús), tooth, referring to its obtuse, molar-like teeth
Echidna catenata (Bloch 1795) Latin for chained, referring to its chain-like color pattern
Echidna delicatula (Kaup 1856) Latin for dainty or delicate, allusion not explained, possibly referring to extremely fine and irregular reticulations on body
Echidna leucotaenia Schultz 1943 leuco-, from leukós (Gr. λευκός), white; taenia, from tainía (Gr. ταινία), band or ribbon, referring to white bands around edges of median fins
Echidna nebulosa (Ahl 1789) Latin for cloudy or dark, referring to 1–3 rows of numerous irregular brownish black blotches on body
Echidna nocturna (Cope 1872) Latin for of the night, i.e., dark or black, possibly referring to deep purplish-brown coloration
Echidna peli (Kaup 1856) in honor of Hendrik Severinus Pel (1818–1876), Dutch Governor of the Gold Coast (now Ghana), who sent holotype to the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (Leiden, Netherlands)
Echidna polyzona (Richardson 1845) polý- (Gr. πολύ), many; zona (L.), belt or girdle, referring to 24–30 white rings around body
Echidna rhodochilus Bleeker 1863 rhódon (Gr. ῥόδον), rose; chilus, from cheī́los (Gr. χεῖλος), lip, referring to pink upper and lower lips
Echidna unicolor Schultz 1953 uni-, from unus (L.), one, referring to “entirely plain tan or light brown” coloration
Echidna xanthospilos (Bleeker 1859) xanthos (Gr. ξανθός), yellow; spílos (Gr. σπίλος), mark or spot, referring to numerous yellowish round or oval patches and streaks on body
Enchelycore Kaup 1856 enchelys (Gr.), eel; core, from kórē (Gr. κόρη), pupil of eye, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to eye of E. euryrhina (=nigricans) situated in middle of snout
Enchelycore anatina (Lowe 1838) Latin for pertaining to a duck, called “The Ducks’bill Muraena” by Lowe, possibly referring to its elongate jaws and long, flat snout
Enchelycore bayeri (Schultz 1953) in honor of Frederick M. Bayer (1921– 2007), assistant curator, division of marine invertebrates, United States National Museum (Washington, D.C.)
Enchelycore bikiniensis (Schultz 1953) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, type locality
Enchelycore carychroa Böhlke & Böhlke 1976 caryon, from káryon (Gr. κάρυον ), nut; chróa (Gr. χρόα), accusative of chrṓs (χρώς), skin color, referring to its chestnut coloration
Enchelycore kamara Böhlke & Böhlke 1980 kamára (Gr. καμάρα), chamber or vault with arched roof, referring to arched upper jaw
Enchelycore lichenosa (Jordan & Snyder 1901) –osa, Latin suffix connoting fullness or abundance, i.e., covered with lichens, referring to light gray blotches on brown-black body, “like spots of lichen”
Enchelycore nigricans (Bonnaterre 1788) Latin for swarthy or blackish, referring to dark coloration of adults
Enchelycore nycturanus Smith 2002 nyktós (Gr. νυκτός), genitive of nýx (νύξ), night; ouranós (Gr. οὐρᾰνός), sky, referring to color pattern, which resembles a field of stars on a dark sky
Enchelycore octaviana (Myers & Wade 1941) -ana (L.), belonging to: Octavia Bay, Colombia, type locality
Enchelycore pardalis (Temminck & Schlegel 1846) párdalis (Gr. πάρδαλις), leopard, referring to leopard-like spots all over body
Enchelycore propinqua Mohapatra, Smith, Mohanty, Mishra & Tudu 2017 Latin for resembling or akin, referring to resemblance in coloration and tooth pattern to some species of Anarchias
Enchelycore ramosa (Griffin 1926) Latin for full of branches, probably referring to “conspicuous network of very small reticulations” on body, dorsal fin and inside mouth
Enchelycore schismatorhynchus (Bleeker 1853) cleft-nosed, from schísma (Gr. σχίσμα), split or cleft, and rhýnchos (Gr. ῥύγχος), snout, referring to its very wide mouth (or snout) cleft
Enchelynassa Kaup 1855 énchelys (Gr. ἔγχελυς), eel; nassa (L.), a wicker basket with a narrow neck, possibly referring to funnel-shaped anterior nasal cavity
Enchelynassa canina (Quoy & Gaimard 1824) Latin for canine (pertaining to a dog), referring to its long canine teeth
Gymnomuraena Lacepède 1803 gymnós (Gr. γυμνός), bare or naked, referring to absence (or smallness) of dorsal and anal fins; muraena (L.), from mýraina ύραινα), Greek name of Muraena helena and precursor to “moray”
Gymnomuraena zebra (Shaw 1797) referring to zebra-like dark and whitish bands [authorship often given as Shaw & Nodder; Shaw apparently prepared the descriptions and Nodder the plates, so Shaw is considered the author]
Gymnothorax Bloch 1795 gymnós (Gr. γυμνός), bare or naked; thṓrax (Gr. θώραξ), breast or chest, referring to absence of pectoral fins
Three subgenera (in addition to Gymnothorax) were used by pre-1990 taxonomists and may again see the light of day: Lycodontis Jordan & Evermann 1896, coined by McClelland (1844) without explanation, from lýkos (Gr. λύκος), wolf, and odontos, Latinized and grammatically adjusted from the Greek nominative ὀδούς (odoús), tooth, presumably referring to sharp teeth and/or “voracious” behavior, “showing much pugnacity”; Neomuraena Girard 1858, néos (Gr. νέος), new, and muraena (L.), from mýraina (Gr. μύραινα), moray eel, proposed as a new genus of morays; and Taeniophis Kaup 1859, taenia, from tainía (Gr. ταινία), band or ribbon, possibly referring to elongate body with long dorsal fin and tapering tail, and óphis (Gr. ὄφις), serpent, referring to snake-like shape.
Gymnothorax afer Bloch 1795 Latin for African, referring to type locality (Guinea) and distribution in African seas
Gymnothorax albimarginatus (Temminck & Schlegel 1846) albus (L.) white; marginatus (L.), bordered, referring to broad whitish margin on dorsal and anal fins
Gymnothorax andamanensis Mohapatra, Kiruba-Sankar, Praveenraj & Mohanty 2019 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: South Andaman, India, type locality
Gymnothorax angusticauda (Weber & de Beaufort 1916) angustus (L.). narrow; cauda (L.), tail, referring to tapered tail, longer than head and trunk
Gymnothorax angusticeps (Hildebrand & Barton 1949) angustus (L.), narrow; -ceps (New Latin), headed, referring to “rather narrow compressed head”
Gymnothorax annasona Whitley 1937 named for the barque Annasona, which wrecked near Middleton Reef, just north of Lord Howe Island, South Pacific (type locality) in 1907
Gymnothorax annulatus Smith & Böhlke 1997 Latin for ringed, referring to bars encircling the body
Gymnothorax arabicus Smith, Bogorodsky, Dandar & Zajonz 2024 –icus (L.), belonging to: Arabian Peninsula, where it occurs
Gymnothorax atolli (Pietschmann 1935) presumably referring to Pearl and Hermes Atoll, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, type locality
Gymnothorax aurocephalus Nashad, Mohapatra, Varghese & Bineesh 2020 golden-headed, from aurum (L.), gold, and kephalḗ (Gr. κεφαλή), head, referring to numerous, densely packed golden spots on head
Gymnothorax australicola Lavenberg 1992 australis (L.), southern; –cola (L.), dweller or inhabitant, referring to its occurrence in the South Pacific
Gymnothorax austrinus Böhlke & McCosker 2001 Latin for southern, referring to its occurrence off Victoria, Australia
Gymnothorax bacalladoi Böhlke & Brito 1987 in honor of Juan José Bacallado Aránega (b. 1939), Director of the Museum of Natural Science, Teneriffe, Canary Islands, for contributions to the study of the marine fauna of Canary Islands, type locality
Gymnothorax baranesi Smith, Brokovich & Einbinder 2008 in honor of Egyptian-born ichthyologist Albert (Avi) Baranes (b. 1949), Hebrew University of Jerusalem, for his contributions to our knowledge of the fishes of the Red Sea (where this eel is endemic)
Gymnothorax bathyphilus Randall & McCosker 1975 deep-loving, from bathýs (Gr. βαθύς), deep, and phílos (Gr. φίλος), friend or fond of, referring to its apparent preference for relatively deep water (250 m, unusual for a moray eel)
Gymnothorax berndti Snyder 1904 in honor of E. Louis (or Louis E.) Berndt (1851–?), “efficient inspector of fisheries in Honolulu” (holotype was acquired at a Honolulu fish market)
Gymnothorax breedeni McCosker & Randall 1977 in honor of Victor E. Breeden (1927–1998), president of Charline H. Breeden Foundation, which made collection of holotype and study of other Comoran fishes possible
Gymnothorax buroensis (Bleeker 1857) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Buro Island, Moluccas Islands, Indonesia, type locality
Gymnothorax castaneus (Jordan & Gilbert 1883) Latin for chestnut-brown, referring to its light chestnut-brown coloration
Gymnothorax castlei Böhlke & Randall 1999 in honor of ichthyologist Peter H. J. Castle (1934–1999), Victoria University (Wellington, New Zealand), “friend and colleague,” for his great contributions to the knowledge of morays as well as all eels and their leptocephali
Gymnothorax cephalospilus Böhlke & McCosker 2001 cephalus, from kephalḗ (Gr. κεφαλή), head; spílos (Gr. σπίλος), mark or spot, referring to eye-sized white spots on head
Gymnothorax chilospilus Bleeker 1864 cheīĺos (Gr. χεῖλος), lip; spílos (Gr. σπίλος), mark or spot, referring to dark-brown streak behind corner of mouth
Gymnothorax chlamydatus Snyder 1908 -atus (L.), provided with: chlamýs (Gr. χλαμύς), mantle or cloak, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to 13 light brown rings that encircle body
Gymnothorax cinerascens (Rüppell 1830) Latin for ash-colored, referring to ashy gray body (presumably color in alcohol; dark brown in life)
Gymnothorax conspersus Poey 1867 Latin for speckled, referring to small blue dots on entire body
Gymnothorax cribroris Whitley 1932 artificially adjectivized from cribrum (L.), sieve, i.e., sieve-like, referring to sieve-like network of markings on body and fins
Gymnothorax davidsmithi McCosker & Randall 2008 in honor of American ichthyologist David G. Smith, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C.), for his contributions to the understanding of anguilliform fishes
Gymnothorax dovii (Günther 1870) in honor of John Melmoth Dow (1827–1892), Panama Railroad Company, ship captain and amateur naturalist, who presented holotype to the British Museum [“w” Latinized as a “v”]
Gymnothorax elaineheemstrae Sithole, Smith & Gouws 2020 in honor of Elaine Heemstra, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, for her “tremendous support in mentoring the first author in fish taxonomy”
Gymnothorax elegans Bliss 1883 Latin for fine or select, probably referring to its attractive coloration, with small round white spots on a pale-yellow to reddish-brown body, pink lips and “gamboge yellow” mouth
Gymnothorax emmae Prokofiev 2010 in honor of Emma S. Karmovskaya (b. 1937), Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, “renowned Russian expert in anguilliform fishes” (translation)
Gymnothorax enigmaticus McCosker & Randall 1982 Latin for enigmatic, referring to nomenclatural confusion with closely related G. rueppelliae
Gymnothorax equatorialis (Hildebrand 1946) Latin for equatorial, referring to type locality: Gulf of Guayaquil, off Mt. Organos, near Cabo Blanco, Peru
Gymnothorax eurostus (Abbott 1860) eúrōstos (Gr. εὔρωστος), stout or strong, referring to its stocky body form
Gymnothorax eurygnathos Böhlke 2001 eurýs (Gr. εὐρύς), wide or broad; gnáthos (Gr. γνάθος), jaw, referring to its wide triangular jaws
Gymnothorax favagineus Bloch & Schneider 1801 Latin for honeycombed, referring to dark honeycomb pattern on body
Gymnothorax fimbriatus (Bennett 1832) Latin for fringed, referring to yellow fringe, or margin, on dorsal fin (“pinnis flavo fimbriatis”), although color is actually white
Gymnothorax flavimarginatus (Rüppell 1830) flavus (L.), yellow; marginatus (L.), bordered, referring to yellow-green edge on dorsal and anal fins
Gymnothorax flavoculus (Böhlke & Randall 1996) flavus (L.), yellow; oculus (L.), eye, referring to bright yellow eye, highly visible in life and contrasting to white eye of very similar G. thyrsoideus
Gymnothorax formosus Bleeker 1864 Latin for beautiful, presumably referring to small spots and rivulations of the sides and belly and/or the “beautiful” (translation) yellow margin of dorsal and anal fins
Gymnothorax funebris Ranzani 1839 Latin for funereal, referring to uniform dark green to brown coloration
Gymnothorax fuscomaculatus (Schultz 1953) fuscus (L.), dusky, dark or swarthy; maculatus (L.), spotted, referring to dark to blackish-brown spots on body
Gymnothorax gracilicauda Jenkins 1903 gracilis (L.), thin or slender; cauda (L.), tail, referring to tapering tail
Gymnothorax griseus (Lacepède 1803) Medieval Latin for gray, although described as being brown and “whitish” (translation)
Gymnothorax hansi Heemstra 2004 in honor of ethologist and filmmaker Hans Fricke (b. 1941), for his “pioneering contributions” to the study of fish behavior and deep demersal communities of the Comoros Islands, Red Sea and Indo-Pacific region
Gymnothorax hepaticus (Rüppell 1830) Latin for pertaining to the liver, referring to its “liver-brown” (translation) coloration
Gymnothorax herrei Beebe & Tee-Van 1933 in honor of American ichthyologist-lichenologist Albert W. Herre (1868–1962), who described this moray in 1923 but used a preoccupied name
Gymnothorax hubbsi Böhlke & Böhlke 1977 in honor of American ichthyologist Carl L. Hubbs (1894–1979), “with great respect and affection”
Gymnothorax indicus Mohapatra, Ray, Smith & Mishra 2016 –icus (L.), belonging to: Exclusive Economic Zone of India, where type specimens were captured by a trawler
Gymnothorax intesi (Fourmanoir & Rivaton 1979) in honor of French zoologist Andrés Intès, who contributed to the capture of several new species of New Caledonian eels
Gymnothorax isingteena (Richardson 1845) from the Chinese vernacular Isingteen, meaning “blue-spotted eel”
Gymnothorax javanicus (Bleeker 1859) –icus (L.), belonging to: referring to Patjitan, Java, Indonesia, type locality
Gymnothorax johnsoni (Smith 1962) in honor of Alf Johnson of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, who supplied Smith with “many rare and valuable specimens”
Gymnothorax kidako (Temminck & Schlegel 1846) Japanese vernacular for this eel
Gymnothorax kolpos Böhlke & Böhlke 1980 kólpos (Gr. κόλπος), gulf or bay, referring to Gulf of Mexico, type locality
Gymnothorax kontodontos Böhlke 2000 kontós (Gr. κοντός), short; odontos, Latinized and grammatically adjusted from the nominative odoús (Gr. ὀδούς), tooth referring to its very short, small teeth
Gymnothorax longinaris Allen, Erdmann & Sianipar 2018 longus (L.) long; naris (L.), nostril, referring to its elongate posterior nasal appendages
Gymnothorax longinquus (Whitley 1948) Latin for long or extensive, presumably referring to elongate, compressed body
Gymnothorax maderensis (Johnson 1862) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Madeira, type locality
Gymnothorax mareei Poll 1953 in honor of Major I. Marée, administrator of Banana, a port town in Bas-Congo (now Kongo Central), Democratic Republic of the Congo
Gymnothorax margaritophorus Bleeker 1864 pearl-bearing, from margarita (L.), pearl, and phoreús (Gr. φορεύς), bearer or carrier, probably referring to 3–4 irregular rows of pearly eye-like spots extending from eye onto dorsal part of body
Gymnothorax marshallensis (Schultz 1953) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Marshall Islands, western Pacific, type locality
Gymnothorax mccoskeri Smith & Böhlke 1997 in honor of “friend, colleague and fellow eel enthusiast” John E. McCosker (b. 1945), California Academy of Sciences, who visited several Australian museums and informed authors of the presence of this species in those collections
Gymnothorax megaspilus Böhlke & Randall 1995 mega-, from mégas (Gr. μέγας), big; spílos (Gr. σπίλος), mark or spot, referring to large black spot surrounding gill opening
Gymnothorax melanosomatus Loh, Shao & Chen 2011 black-bodied, from mélanos (Gr. Μέλανος), genitive of melanos (Gr.), black, and sṓma, (Gr. σῶμα), body, referring to its black body color
Gymnothorax melatremus Schultz 1953 black-pored, from mélas (Gr. μέλας), black, and trḗma (Gr. τρῆμα), hole or pore, referring to black blotch around gill openings
Gymnothorax meleagris (Shaw 1795) meleagrís (Gr. μελεαγρίς), guineafowl, probably referring to innumerable small white spots on body, which closely resembles color pattern of a guineafowl
Gymnothorax microstictus Böhlke 2000 micro-, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small; stiktós (Gr. στικτός), spotted, referring to small, dark brown spots on body and tail
Gymnothorax miliaris (Kaup 1856) Latin for thousands, referring to numerous tiny white dots on body
Gymnothorax minor (Temminck & Schlegel 1846) Latin for smaller, referring to small size compared with G. albimarginatus, G. kidako and Enchelycore pardalis
Gymnothorax mishrai Ray, Mohapatra & Smith 2015 in honor of Subhrendu Sekhar Mishra, Officer in Charge, Fish Section, Zoological Survey of India
Gymnothorax moluccensis (Bleeker 1864) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Ambon Island, Moluccas Islands, Indonesia, type locality
Gymnothorax monochrous (Bleeker 1856) mono-, from mónos (Gr.), alone or lonely; chrous, from chrṓs (Gr. χρώς), skin color, probably referring to its bronze-brown color without spots or bands
Gymnothorax monostigma (Regan 1909) mono-, from mónos (Gr.), alone or lonely; stígma (Gr. στίγμα), mark or spot, referring to single deep-black spot immediately behind eye
Gymnothorax mordax (Ayres 1859) Latin for biting, referring to its “very savage habits of biting and plunging at any object approaching it”
Gymnothorax moringa (Cuvier 1829) West Indian or Portuguese corruption of muraena, Greek name for moray eels
Gymnothorax mucifer Snyder 1904 etymology not explained, probably mucor (L.), mold; fero (L.), to have or bear, referring to “flakes of white” on dark-brown body in alcohol
Gymnothorax nasuta de Buen 1961 Latin for large-nosed, referring to its exceptionally long anterior nostril, projecting well in front of snout
Gymnothorax neglectus Tanaka 1911 Latin for neglected, slighted or overlooked, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its close similarity to and possible misidentification with G. punctatus
Gymnothorax nigromarginatus (Girard 1858) niger (L.), dark or black; marginatus (L.), bordered, referring to dark margin on dorsal fin
Gymnothorax niphostigmus Chen, Shao & Chen 1996 niphos, from nípha (Gr. νίφα), snow; stigmus, from stígma (Gr. στίγμα), mark or spot, referring to numerous snowflake-like patches on body and fins
Gymnothorax nubilus (Richardson 1848) Latin for cloudy, referring to cloud-like spots on body, which form a series of irregular and sometimes confluent bars
Gymnothorax nudivomer (Günther 1867) nudus (L.), bare or naked, referring to toothless vomer (roof of mouth)
Gymnothorax nuttingi Snyder 1904 in honor of American zoologist Charles Cleveland Nutting (1858–1927), member of the Albatross Hawaiian expedition in 1902, during which holotype was collected
Gymnothorax obesus (Whitley 1932) Latin for fat, allusion not explained, probably referring to its large size and/or how dorsal and anal fins are “reduced to low fatty folds anteriorly”
Gymnothorax ocellatus Agassiz 1831 Latin for having little eyes (ocelli), referring to white spots on body, the largest about eye-size
Gymnothorax odishi Mohapatra, Mohanty, Smith, Mishra & Roy 2018 of Odisha, India, in the Bay of Bengal, type locality
Gymnothorax panamensis (Steindachner 1876) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Panama, type locality
Gymnothorax parini Collette, Smith & Böhlke 1991 in honor of ichthyologist Nikolai Vasil’evich Parin (1932–2012), P. P. Shirov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, expert on seamount fishes and scientific leader of cruise 17 of the Vitiaz, from which all type material was collected
Gymnothorax paucivertebralis Allen, Erdmann & Sianipar 2018 paucus (L.), few or scanty; vertebralis (L.), vertebral, referring to exceptionally low number of vertebrae (101–103; most Indo-Pacific congeners in the 130–150 range)
Gymnothorax phalarus Bussing 1998 from phálaros (Gr. φάλαρος), white-spotted or white-patched, referring to color pattern
Gymnothorax pharaonis Smith, Bogorodsky, Mal & Alpermann 2019 –is, genitive singular of: pharaohs, rulers of ancient Egypt, whose realm included the Red Sea (where it occurs); also refers to the “regal appearance of this handsomely marked fish”
Gymnothorax phasmatodes (Smith 1962) -odes, Latinized suffix adopted from eí̄dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: phásma (Gr. φάσμα), ghost or specter, presumably referring to light (pale yellow) coloration
Gymnothorax philippinus Jordan & Seale 1907 –inus (L.), pertaining to, i.e., Filipino, referring to type locality, Cavite, Luzon Island, Philippines
Gymnothorax pictus (Ahl 1789) Latin for painted or colored, referring to lavish coloration, with brown to dark-brown speckling, as if spotted with paint
Gymnothorax pikei Bliss 1883 in honor of Nicholas Pike (1817–1905), U.S. Consulate, Port Louis, Mauritiana, who provided Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology with a “large and valuable” collection of fishes from Mauritius, including holotype of this one
Gymnothorax pindae Smith 1962 of Pinda, Mozambique, type locality
Gymnothorax poikilospilus Chen & Huang 2022 poikílos (Gr. ποικίλος), many-colored; spílos (Gr. σπίλος), mark or spot, referring to its varied body markings between daytime (almost uniform brown with obscure dark patches) and nighttime (turning lighter and dark patches becoming obvious)
Gymnothorax polygonius Poey 1875 -ius (L.), having the quality of: polý– (Gr. πολύ), many; gōnía (Gr. γωνία), angle or corner, referring to pale areas of polygonal, squarish or indeterminate shapes on body
Gymnothorax polyspondylus Böhlke & Randall 2000 polý– (Gr. πολύ), many; spóndylos (Gr. σπόνδυλος), vertebra, referring to high vertebral number
Gymnothorax polyuranodon (Bleeker 1853) poly– (Gr. πολύ), many; urano-, from ouranískos (Gr. οὐρανίσκος), roof of mouth; odon, Latinized and grammatically adjusted from the Greek nominative ὀδούς (odoús), tooth, referring to 5–6 sharp teeth on vomer
Gymnothorax porphyreus (Guichenot 1848) referring to reddish dots on body, which resemble dotted porphyry, a variety of igneous rock consisting of large-grained crystals such as feldspar or quartz
Gymnothorax prasinus (Richardson 1848) prásinos (Gr. πράσινος), leek-green or light green, referring to green, leek-like coloration
Gymnothorax prionodon Ogilby 1895 príōn (Gr. πρίων), saw; odon, Latinized and grammatically adjusted from the Greek nominative ὀδούς (odoús), tooth, referring to some anterior maxillary teeth being serrated (although subsequent accounts indicate all teeth are smooth)
Gymnothorax prismodon Böhlke & Randall 2000 prísma (Gr. πρίσμα), anything sawed; odon, Latinized and grammatically adjusted from the Greek nominative ὀδούς (odoús), tooth, referring to its highly serrate teeth
Gymnothorax prolatus Sasaki & Amaoka 1991 Latin for extended or elongated, referring to slender, “greatly” elongated body
Gymnothorax pseudoherrei Böhlke 2000 pseudo-, from pseúdēs (Gr. ψεύδης), false, i.e., although it may resemble (and be misidentified as) G. herrei, such an appearance is false
Gymnothorax pseudokidako Huang, Loh & Liao 2021 pseudo-, from pseúdēs (Gr. ψεύδης), false, i.e., referring to its “highly morphological similarity” to G. kidako
Gymnothorax pseudomelanosomatus Loh, Shao & Chen 2015 pseudo-, from pseúdēs (Gr. ψεύδης), false, i.e., although it may resemble (and be misidentified as) G. melanosomatus, such an appearance is false
Gymnothorax pseudoprolatus Smith, Hibino & Ho 2018 pseudo-, from pseúdēs (Gr. ψεύδης), false, i.e., although this species may resemble G. prolatus, such an appearance is false
Gymnothorax pseudothyrsoideus (Bleeker 1853) pseudo-, from pseúdēs (Gr. ψεύδης), false, i.e., although it may resemble G. thyrsoideus, such an appearance is false
Gymnothorax pseudotile Mohapatra, Smith, Ray, Mishra & Mohanty 2017 pseudo-, from pseúdēs (Gr. ψεύδης), false, i.e., although morphologically similar to G. tile, such an appearance is false
Gymnothorax punctatofasciatus Bleeker 1863 punctatus (L.), spotted, referring to small brown spots on body; fasciatus (L.), banded, referring to 30 irregular crossbands, some encircling body, others incompletely developed
Gymnothorax punctatus Bloch & Schneider 1801 Latin for spotted, referring to small white spots body all over body
Gymnothorax randalli Smith & Böhlke 1997 in honor of American ichthyologist John E. Randall (1924–2020), Bishop Museum (Honolulu), “friend and colleague,” who collected three of the four type specimens and reported on the fourth
Gymnothorax reevesii (Richardson 1845) in honor of John Reeves (1774–1856), who commissioned fish paintings and illustrations from Chinese artists while working as a tea inspector in China (1812–1831), including the illustration upon which Richardson based his description
Gymnothorax reticularis Bloch 1795 Latin for net-like or netted, referring to brown reticulations on sides of body
Gymnothorax richardsonii (Bleeker 1852) in honor of Scottish surgeon-naturalist John Richardson (1787–1865), for his contributions to the knowledge of muraenid eels
Gymnothorax robinsi Böhlke 1997 in honor of C. Richard Robins (1928–2020), “eelologist” and colleague, advisor and friend, for contributions to the knowledge of fishes (including anguilliforms), and for help and encouragement, both scientific and personal, over the past 37 years
Gymnothorax rueppelliae (McClelland 1844) in honor of German explorer-naturalist Eduard Rüppell (1794–1884), whose 1828–1830 work on Red Sea fishes contains many Indian species referenced by McClelland [spelling appears to reflect incorrect gender, but may actually represent an incorrect Latinization (Ruppellius) of Rüppell, which cannot be emended to “rueppellii” per ICZN Code 32.5.1]
Gymnothorax ryukyuensis Hatooka 2003 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Ryukyu Islands, Japan, type locality
Gymnothorax sagmacephalus Böhlke 1997 saddle-headed, from ságma (Gr. σάγμα), saddle, and kephalḗ (Gr. κεφαλή), head, referring to prominent dark saddle on head
Gymnothorax saxicola Jordan & Davis 1891 saxi-, from saxum (L.), rock; –cola (L.), dweller or inhabitant, referring to how it “abounds about the Snapper Banks [off Pensacola, Florida, USA] among rocks at considerable depth”
Gymnothorax serratidens (Hildebrand & Barton 1949) serra (L.), saw; dens (L.), tooth, referring to serrated teeth in jaws
Gymnothorax shaoi Chen & Loh 2007 in honor of Taiwanese ichthyologist and marine ecologist Kwang-Tsao Shao (b. 1951), Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, who contributed greatly to establish a Taiwanese fish database and for supervising and supporting the authors’ muraenid studies
Gymnothorax smithi Sumod, Mohapatra, Sanjeevan, Kishor & Bineesh 2019 in honor of American ichthyologist David G. Smith, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C.), “an eminent eel expert who has contributed significantly to the knowledge and understanding” of anguilliform fishes
Gymnothorax sokotrensis Kotthaus 1968 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: off Sokotra Island, Indian Ocean, type locality
Gymnothorax steindachneri Jordan & Evermann 1903 in honor of Austrian ichthyologist Franz Steindachner (1834–1919), who suspected this was a distinct species in 1900
Gymnothorax taiwanensis Chen, Loh & Shen 2008 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: coastal eastern Taiwan, type locality
Gymnothorax tamilnaduensis Kodeeswaran, Kantharajan, Mohapatra, Kumar & Sarkar 2023 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Tamil Nadu, India, where type locality (Mudasalodai fish landing centre, off Cuddalore coast) is situated
Gymnothorax thyrsoideus (Richardson 1845) -eus (L.), adjectival suffix: thyrsoid, i.e., having the shape of thrysus, botanical Latin for a close-branched cluster or panicle, possibly referring to white fine reticulations “forming polygonal meshes” and/or English translation of its Chinese vernacular, “flowery club”
Gymnothorax tile (Hamilton 1822) local vernacular for this eel in Calcutta, India, type locality
Gymnothorax undulatus (Lacepède 1803) Latin for wavy, referring to distinctive pattern of light undulating lines and speckles on a dark green background
Gymnothorax unicolor (Delaroche 1809) uni-, from unus (L.), one, referring to its uniform brown coloration
Gymnothorax vagrans (Seale 1917) Latin for wandering, probably alluding to unknown type locality (questionably South America)
Gymnothorax verrilli (Jordan & Gilbert 1883) in honor of American marine biologist Addison E. Verrill (1839–1926), who supplied authors with type material from Yale University
Gymnothorax vicinus (Castelnau 1855) Latin for near, referring to its similarity to G. moringa
Gymnothorax vietnamensis Smith, Hibino & Ho 2018 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Nha Trang, Khánh Hòa Province, Vietnam (South China Sea), type locality
Gymnothorax visakhaensis Mohapatra, Smith, Mohanty, Mishra & Tudu 2017 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Visakhapatnam fishing harbor, Andhra Pradesh, southeast coast of India, type locality
Gymnothorax walvisensis Prokofiev & Kukuev 2009 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Walvis Ridge, southeastern Atlantic, type locality
Gymnothorax woodwardi McCulloch 1912 in honor of Bernard H. Woodward (1846–1916), Director, Western Australian Museum and Art Gallery, for sending an “interesting collection” of “new and little-known fishes” (including this one) to McCulloch for study, and for “various kindnesses connected with the publication of this paper”
Gymnothorax ypsilon Hatooka & Randall 1992 Greek letter Y, referring to how bars on body branch dorsally to form a Y-shape
Gymnothorax zonipectis Seale 1906 etymology not explained, perhaps zona (L.), belt or girdle; pectis, possible misspelling of pectus (L.), chest or breast, described as having six white crossbands on throat and under jaw
Monopenchelys Böhlke & McCosker 1982 mono-, from mónos (Gr.), alone or lonely, and opé (Gr. ὀπή), opening or hole, referring to single branchial pore, unique among morays; enchelys (Gr.), eel
Monopenchelys acuta (Parr 1930) Latin for sharp or pointed, referring to its slender head and snout
Muraena Linnaeus 1758 muraena (L.), from mýraina ύραινα), Greek name of Muraena helena and precursor to “moray”
Muraena argus (Steindachner 1870) Argus, mythical hundred-eyed guardian of Io, whose eyes after death were transformed into the feathers of a peacock, probably referring to numerous white spots on body
Muraena augusti (Kaup 1856) in honor of French zoologist August Dumeril (1812–1870), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (Paris), a “highly-valued friend”
Muraena clepsydra Gilbert 1898 Latin for hourglass, from klepsýdra (Gr. κλεψύδρα), referring to larger white spots on posterior half of body, “with a more or less evident central constriction which makes them hourglass-shaped”
Muraena helena Linnaeus 1758 etymology not explained, possibly referring to Izaak Walton’s comment that the Romans esteemed this eel as the “Helena of their feasts” (The Compleat Angler, 1653), presumably an allusion to Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in Greek mythology (perhaps equating a paragon of beauty with a paragon of palatable pleasure)
Muraena lentiginosa Jenyns 1842 Latin for freckled, referring to yellow circular spots, “many of them not bigger than large pin’s heads … giving a freckled appearance”
Muraena melanotis (Kaup 1859) melanos (Gr.), black; otis, obscurely Latinized from oū́s (Gr. οὖς) or its genitive ōtós (ὠτός), ear, referring to conspicuous black blotch on gill opening
Muraena pavonina Richardson 1845 Latin for peacock-like, referring to eye-like spots on head, body and fins
Muraena retifera Goode & Bean 1882 rete (L.), net; fero (L.), to have or bear, referring to distinctive color pattern of brown rosettes overlaid with small bright white dots on a dark background, which appears as a dark reticulum
Muraena robusta Osório 1911 Latin for fat or stout, referring to extremely robust body shape of large specimens
Pseudechidna Bleeker 1863 pseudo-, from pseúdēs (Gr. ψεύδης), false, i.e., although this genus may resemble Echidna, such an appearance is false
Pseudechidna brummeri (Bleeker 1858) in honor of Lieutenant Colonel O. Brummer, military surgeon, Royal Dutch East Indies Army, who collected holotype
Rhinomuraena Garman 1888 rhinós (Gr. ῥινός), genitive of rhís (ῥίς), nose or snout, proposed as a subgenus of Muraena (but treated by Garman as a full genus) with extended anterior nostrils with fan-like extensions at each end
Rhinomuraena quaesita Garman 1888 Latin for sought out, select or extraordinary, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its “peculiarities,” which distinguish it from its presumed congeners in Muraena “to such an extent as will hardly permit its admission into any of the subgenera at present recognized”
Strophidon McClelland 1844 strophḗ (Gr. στροφή), turning point; odon, Latinized and grammatically adjusted from the Greek nominative ὀδούς (odoús), tooth, referring to moveable conical teeth at end of jaws of S. longicaudata (=sathete)
Strophidon dawydoffi Prokofiev 2020 in memory of Russian zoologist Konstantin Nikolaevich Davydov (1877–1960), Institute of Oceanography in Nha Trang, Vietnam (near type locality), for his “huge” (translation) contribution to the knowledge of various groups of marine invertebrates
Strophidon dorsalis (Seale 1917) Latin for “of the back,” presumably referring to dorsal fin, which is very low anteriorly and hidden in skin
Strophidon sathete (Hamilton 1822) presumably the local vernacular for this eel in Calcutta, India, type locality
Strophidon tetraporus Huang, Mohapatra, Thu, Chen & Liao 2020 tetrá (Gr. τετρά), four; póros (Gr. πόρος), hole or pore, referring to “uniquely constant presence” of the fourth infraorbital pore (usually three, rarely four, in congeners)
Strophidon ui Tanaka 1918 in honor of Nuizo Ui (1878–1946), an algological collector, who obtained holotype [presumably a noun in apposition, without the genitive “i”]