Macrocephenchelys brachialis Fowler, 1934
photo by National Museum of Marine Science and Technology, Taiwan

Family:  Congridae (Conger and garden eels), subfamily: Congrinae
Max. size:  80 cm TL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  bathydemersal; marine; depth range 635 - 1012 m
Distribution:  Indo-West Pacific: few widely scattered locations, east coast of Madagascar; Indonesia (Makassar Strait), Malaysia (northeastern Borneo), Taiwan and Vanuatu.
Diagnosis:  Vertebrae: 173-183. This species is distinguished from its congeners the following characters: body is more elongate with depth at anus 2.2-5.9 %TL, more delicate and flexible; head is shorter 7.1-9.5 %TL, 25.6-36.2 %PAL, 1.8-2.8 times in trunk; dorsal-fin origin is well behind the tip of pectoral fin; vertebrae more numerous 173-183; supratemporal pore present; fleshy papillae on lower jaw, but not dorsally on head; no sensory pits on the ventral surface of head and anterior body (Ref. 129313).
Biology: 
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 15 August 2011 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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