Author: Poey, 1870
Gymnothorax polygonius Poey, 1870
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Gymnothorax polygonius Poey, 1875 (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: body elongate, clearly compressed behind anus, depth 7-8% TL; anus before midpoint of body. Head long, with a dorsal profile strongly depressed above eye; anterior nostril tubular, at snout tip, posterior nostril opening over anterior eye margin in an oval pore with a very slight rim. Teeth caniniform, strong, acute, uniserial in both jaws, some more acute teeth on premaxillae; vomerine teeth more squat, irregularly biserial. Gill opening restricted to small roundish lateral pore. Dorsal and anal fins confluent with caudal fin; dorsal fin origin well before gill openings; pectoral and pelvic fins absent. Vertebrae 134. Colour: background colour dark olive-greenish, like a network with large meshes enclosing groups of small light patches; network much broader in caudal region; small light patches uniformly scattered over head and inside mouth cavity, without apparent network; posterior third of dorsal fin and whole anal fin edged with creamy white. Size: to70 cm.
Habitat: benthic on shelf, littoral and rocky coasts. Food: no data. Reproduction: no data.
Distribution: Madeira (Maul, in litt.). Elsewhere, only insular in eastern Atlantic; also in western Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. No data.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.