Abstract:
A new species of snake eel, Ophichthus vietnamensis sp. nov., is described on the basis of two specimens
collected from off Ky Ha, central coast of Viet Nam. The new species is distinguishable from four similar
congeners by having two preopercular pores, a less elongate body (both depth 20–25 times in TL) and the
following combination of characters: tail length 56% TL; teeth moderately large and conical, biserial along
the entire upper jaw, biserial anteriorly and uniserial posteriorly on lower jaw, uniserial on vomer, and total
vertebrae 121–130. Five Ophichthus species are also found in Vietnamese waters, including O. asakusae,
O. erabo, O. lithinus, O. rutidoderma and O. urolophus. Detailed descriptions are provided for all species.
