A new worm eel Neenchelys mccoskeri (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae) from Taiwan and Japan

The myrophine ophichthid eel Neenchelys mccoskeri sp. nov. is described from the holotype and 47 paratypes, 266–522 mm in total length (TL), collected from Taiwan and Japan. The species is characterized by having a small head (6.4–7.7 % TL), a slender body (body depth at gill opening 1.5–3.2 % TL), its dorsal-fin origin located at mid trunk, and a mean vertebral formula of 36.9-65.0-178.7. Neenchelys mccoskeri is similar to Neenchelys daedalus McCosker 1982, but is clearly distinguished from the latter by its shorter tail length (57–63 % TL vs. 73–74 %), the location of its dorsal-fin origin (distance from dorsal-fin origin to a vertical through the anus 46–59 % of trunk length vs. 60–68 %; predorsal length 21–26 % TL vs. 15 %), shorter pectoral fins (1.5–4.3 % of head length vs. 22–23 %), and fewer total vertebrae (172–184 vs. 225–235).