Notes on the Identity of Small, Brown, Unpatterned Indo-Pacific Moray Eels, with Descriptions of Three New Species (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae)

Abstract

Eight species of Indo-Pacific morays, including three new species, are described and discussed. Most are plain brown and have unpatterned body coloration (one with small dark spots); they are small to moderate-sized species and possess fewer than 150 vertebrae. They include Gymnothorax atolli (pietschmann, 1935); Gymnothorax australicola Lavenberg, 1992; Gymnothorax herrei Beebe & Tee-Van, 1933; Gymnothorax panamensis (Steindachner, 1876); Gymnothorax pindae Smith, 1962; Gymnothorax pseudoherrei Bohlke, n. sp.; Gymnothorax kontodontos Bohlke, n. sp.; and Gymnothorax microstictus Bohlke, n. sp.