GYMNOTHORAX-PARINI, A NEW SPECIES OF MORAY EEL (TELEOSTEI, MURAENIDAE) FROM WALTERS SHOALS, MADAGASCAR RIDGE

Gymnothorax parini is described from 19 specimens collected in shallow water (18 m) at Walters Shoals in the southwestern Indian Ocean. It is distinctive in having a wide bright white margin on the dorsal, caudal, and anal fins; a long anterior nostril tube that reaches or passes the edge of the upper lip when depressed ventrally, and at least half the posterior nostril located anterior to the anterior margin of the eye. It resembles several other species found around islands in the subtropical zone of the southern Indo-Pacific, but differs from all of them in color pattern, number of vertebrae (143-152), and position of the posterior nostril.