Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Ovalentaria/misc (Various families in series Ovalentaria) >
Pseudochromidae (Dottybacks) > Congrogadinae
Etymology: Halimuraena: Greek, als, alis = salt + Latin, muraena = morey eel (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Smith.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; demersal. Tropical; 1°S - 26°S, 34°E - 50°E
Western Indian Ocean: coasts of Kenya, Mozambique, the southwest coast of Madagascar, and Chesterfield Island in the Mozambique Channel.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 6.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 531)
Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 45 - 47; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 36 - 37; Vertebrae: 51 - 53. Shoulder with an ocellated dark spot. Fused gill membranes in ventral midline, ventrally free from isthmus. Variable cephalic sensory canal pores. Variable color pattern, light brown yellow anteriorly, dark posteriorly; blotches on body forming almost a `honeycomb pattern'; iris gray-gold; a short dark bar from posteroventral margin of eye across cheek. Preopercular canal with 7 pores; 7 suborbital pores; with a bilateral, anterior interorbital pore. No scales on cheeks, opercles and nape. Lower lateral line with 60-72 pored scales.
Body shape (shape guide): eel-like; Cross section: circular.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Winterbottom, R., 1985. Revision and vicariance biogeography of the subfamily Congrogadidae (Pisces: Perciformes: Pseudochromidae). Indo-Pac. Fish. (9):34 p. (Ref. 531)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
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