Larvae of the garden eel genus Gorgasia (Congridae, Heterocongrinae) from the western Caribbean Sea

A single specimen of an unidentified congrid eel leptocephalus was described from the western Caribbean Sea off Panama in 1989 as "Congridae Genus A Species A". A second specimen of this same larval type was collected on 7 September 1996 on the reef flat at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize. Based on the description and identification of a very similar leptocephalus from the Philippines as Gorgasia maculata,Genus A species A is identified as a member of the garden eel genus Gorgasia, previously unknown in the Atlantic. The new specimen is described and compared with the previous specimen and what is known of the leptocephalus of G. maculata. The circumstances of the Belize specimen's capture are discussed, and an explanation is offered as to why adults of this species have not been discovered.