Canton Island moray (Anarchias cantonensis)

Scientific name: Anarchias cantonensis Schultz, 1943

The Canton Island moray (Anarchias cantonensis) is a marine fish of the family Muraenidae.

Biology

This species is distinguished from its congeners except A. exulatus and A. schultzi by the position of the fourth supraorbital pore, anteromedial to the posterior nostril and separated from it by an interval of normal, pigmented skin; fewer vertebrae 98-108 (vs. 110-117 in A. exulatus and 105-113 in A. schultzi); longer snout-anus distance 45.1-50.6% TL (vs. 40.3-45.1% in A. exulatus and 41.5-45.1% in A. schultzi); with discrete, sharply defined pale spots (vs. larger, more diffuse pale areas oriented vertically in A. exulatus and uniform brown of A. schultzi).

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Anarchias cantonensis
Family
Muraenidae (Moray eels)
Order
Anguilliformes (Eels and Morays)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
21.9
Environment
Marine; reef-associated
Climate
Tropical
Distribution
Indo-West Pacific: tropical, from central Indian Ocean in the west to the Phoenix and Line Islands in the east; southernmost records from about 21?S in Tonga, northernmost from about 19?N in the Philippines. Not recorded anywhere west of the Maldives, although it reaches as far as Palmyra I. in the east and does not occur in the Hawaiian Islands nor anywhere in French Polynesia.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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