False Brown Moray, Gymnothorax pseudoherrei Böhlke 2000


A False Brown Moray, Gymnothorax pseudoherrei, from Flat Rock off North Stradbroke Island, southern Queensland, QM I.36454. Source: Queensland Museum via Australian National Fish Collection, CSIRO. License: CC BY Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike

Summary:
A small, elongate, uniform medium to dark brown moray, with a pale head, narrow brown rims around the head pores, and no dark ring around the eye. The anus is positioned before the midbody.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2023, Gymnothorax pseudoherrei in Fishes of Australia, accessed 14 Oct 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3566

False Brown Moray, Gymnothorax pseudoherrei Böhlke 2000

More Info


Distribution

Scott Reef, Western Australia, Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea, and the far northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, and Boot Reef in the Coral Sea to off North Stradbroke Island, Queensland. Elsewhere the species is widespread in the Indo-west-central Pacific: from the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, east to Indonesia, the Philippines, south to Australia and the Solomon Islands.

Features

Preanal length 2.0-2.3 in TL; head length 7.2-9.0 in TL; depth at gill opening 14-20 in TL; 2 branchial pores; teeth numerous and smooth, maxillary teeth biserial for entire extent, vomerine teeth uniserial, dentary teeth biserial in young, uniserial in adults; MVF 6-47-114.

Similar Species

Although the similar Gymnothorax herrei has similar coloration and biserial maxillary dentition, ir has two branchial pores, the dorsal-fin origin before the gill opening, and three rows of intermaxillary teeth.

Etymology

The specific name is from the Greek pseudes = (false) and herrei (=  the name for the small brown moray [Gymnothorax herrei] that this new species superficially resembles and has previously been identified as.

Species Citation

Gymnothorax pseudoherrei Böhlke 2000, Pacific Science 54(4): 408, figs 2F, 3D, 7. Type locality: Philippines, Mindanao, Zamboanga Del Norte, W side of Solino (Selinog) Island, 08° 51' 24" N, 123° 24' 36"E, 0-4.6 m.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2023

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

False Brown Moray, Gymnothorax pseudoherrei Böhlke 2000

References


Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.

Böhlke, E.B. 2000. Notes on the identity of small, brown, unpatterned Indo-Pacific moray eels, with descriptions of three new species (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae). Pacific Science 54(4): 395-416. http://hdl.handle.net/10125/1665

Böhlke, E.B. & McCosker, J.E. 2001. The moray eels of Australia and New Zealand, with the description of two new species (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae). Records of the Australian Museum 53: 71-102 figs 1-10 https://doi.org/10.3853/j.0067-1975.53.2001.1325

Smith, D.G., Tighe, K. & McCosker, J. 2019. Gymnothorax pseudoherrei. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T195785A2417498. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T195785A2417498.en. Accessed on 08 March 2023.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37060071

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Depth:1-15 m

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:30 cm TL

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