A new worm eel (Ophichthidae, Myrophinae), Muraenichthys velinasalis, is described based on five specimens (97.9-281.0 mm of total length) collected from Taiwan, Philippines, northeastern Australia, Vanuatu, and Sri Lanka. Muranichthys velinasalis is most similar to M. philippinensis and M. schultzei in the position of the dorsal-fin origin behind a vertical through mid-anus, but can be easily ...

Body shape and size are important axes of organismal diversification. The elongate body form has evolved repeatedly in disparate vertebrate clades, and is associated with a variety of maximum body lengths. We used a time-calibrated phylogeny for 40 species of moray eels to analyse the evolution of elongation and the morphological mechanisms underlying variation in body shape and maximum body le...