• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.318-323
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• 2008

A single specimen of the ophichthid Muraenichthys gymnopterus (254.6 mm TL) was collected from the middle Yellow Sea off Incheon, Korea. It represents the first record of the species, the genus, and the subfamily from Korea. This species is characterized by the following combination of characters: a constricted midlateral gill opening; dorsal fin origin before anus, closer to the anus than to the gill opening; blunt teeth, jaw teeth in bands, and multiserial dentition; third preopercular pore present; single infraorbital pore between anterior and posterior nostrils; brownish colour; depth and width of gill opening 43.2 times and 33.7~65.3 times in total length, respectively; eye diameter 15.0~31.0 times in head length and total vertebrae 154~161. New Korean names are proposed, "Gaet-mul-baem-a-gwa" for the subfamily Myrophinae, "Gaet-mul-baem-sok" for the genus Muraenichthys, and "Gaet-mul-baem" for M. gymnopterus.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.217-224
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• 2011

The seven leptocephali (14.6~68.0 mm in total length) of the family Ophichthidae, from the East Sea of Korea, were identified using 12S rRNA 861-bp sequences and their morphological development were described. Our seven leptocephali were identified to Echelus uropterus based on genetic distance (d=0.000) being well consistent with that of adult E. uropterus. Our seven leptocephali of E. uropterus are characterized by morphological combinations: caudal fin present; the melanophores present in series of nine gut swellings; total myomeres 154~158; body depth in total length less than 10%; eight black horizontal bands present from anus to caudal fin base. Our morphological and molecular results suggest that E. uropterus may be an intermediate group between subfamily Ophichthinae and Myrophinae.