Anarchias similis
Pygmy Moray
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Anguilliformes (True Eels)
Muraenidae (Morays)
Anarchias
Anarchias similis (Pygmy Moray)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Elongate and laterally compressed body; dorsal and anal fins restricted to tip of tail; snout short, subconical, and broad; jaws close completely; anterior nostril tubular; posterior nostril rimmed and located above center of eye; eye moderate and centered slightly anterior to midpoint of upper jaw; jaw teeth numerous, conical, slender, and biserial anteriorly and uniserial posteriorly; teeth along inner series of upper jaw number 2 to 5; intermaxillary teeth arranged in outer band of 7 to 10 small teeth and three inner rows of enlarged, depressible teeth; vomerine teeth separated from intermaxillary teeth and consist of single row of 3 to 11 small, sharp teeth; gill openings small, slitlike, and about at mid-depth of body; head pores developed and consist of four infraorbital, four supraorbital, six mandibular, and two branchial; snout 13% to 17%, eye 7.3% to 10%, and upper jaw 31% to 42% of head length; head length 11% to 13%, preanal length 42% to 45%, depth at gill openings 3.7% to 7.8%, and depth at anus 2.7% to 5.2% of TL; total vertebrae number 104 to 113, predorsal vertebrae number 94 to 104, and preanal vertebrae number 95 to 106
Lower jaw has pale marks, and head pores are in white spots; body color is uniformly dark brown; dark with scattered pale spots; dark with small, distinct pale spots and diffuse, larger pale spots; or of bold overall pattern of irregular pale markings
Distribution
Georgia and Bermuda to southern Brazil, including the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Lesser Antilles
eastern Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Tropical to warm temperate Atlantic between 27 and 97 m, and rarely as shallow as 5.5 m
Often associated with boulders and eel grass
Biology
Maximum known size is 206 mm TL
Males mature at 99 to 206 mm TL, and females mature at 76 to 136 mm TL
Occurs on shallow, poorly developed coral reefs to deep rocky slopes (Ref. 7251).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2011-08-16. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters described
References
C. R. Robins et al. 1986 (as A. yoshiae)
E. Bohlke et al. 1989
Smith 1989m
Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea and W.B. Scott (1991) Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. Am. Fish. Soc. Spec. Publ. (20):183 p.
Smith, D.G. and E.B. Böhlke (1990) Muraenidae. p. 136-148. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1.
Scott, W.B. and M.G. Scott (1988) Atlantic fishes of Canada. Can. Bull. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 219:731 p.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
Charter, S.R. and H.G. Moser (1996) Muraenidae: morays. p. 88-91. In H.G. Moser (ed.) The early stages of fishes in the California Current region. California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) Atlas No. 33. 1505 p.
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