Author: Johnson, 1862
Gymnothorax maderensis Johnson, 1862
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Gymnothorax maderensis (Johnson, 1862) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: body elongate, clearly compressed behind anus, not very deep (depth about 5% TL); anus behind midpoint of body. Head massive, with occipital region somewhat elevated; anterior nostril tubular, at front of snout, posterior nostril an oval pore with a low rim, near upper anterior eye margin. Teeth strong, acute, triangular with crenulate edges, uniserial in both jaws; no premaxillary teeth; sometimes some vomerine teeth, biserial. Gill opening restricted to small roundish lateral pore. Dorsal and anal fins confluent with caudal fin; dorsal origin slightly before gill opening; pectoral and pelvic fins absent. Vertebrae: total 150- 158; abdominal 80-81. Colour: chocolate brown, darker on head, very densely spotted with small light patches, round or vermicular, changing progressively forward to vermicular brown patches; dorsal and anal fins light-edged. Size: to I m.
Habitat: benthic on shelf, on rocks and deep coral zones at 85-200 m. Food: no data. Reproduction: very few data; one ripe female caught in October off Dahomey, four leptocephali described by Blache (1977) in Gulf of Guinea.
Distribution: Madeira. Elsewhere, Gulf of Guinea.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. Blache, 1977: 37 (leptocephali).
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.