Two New Indo-Pacific Morays of the Genus Uropterygius (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae)

Two closely-related new species of Indo-Pacific morays are described herein. Uropterygius xenodontus, from the central and western Pacific, and U. golanii, from the northern Red Sea, differ from each other in their vertebral numbers, and from all other congeners which possess a single branchial pore on the basis of their coloration, vertebral number, and dentition. The possession by the new species of wedge-shaped rather than conical jaw teeth within species of Uroplerygius as well as the relationship of vomerine dentition to fish size are discussed.