Rediscovery and phylogenetic position of Moringua hodgarti Chaudhuri, 1913 (Synbranchiformes: Synbranchidae) from the Siang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh, India

For more than a century, there have been no records of Moringua hodgarti, first collected during the Abor Expedition of 1911–1912, and subsequently described by Chaudhuri in 1913 as a species of moringuid eel. We report the rediscovery of this species after 110 years, and provide a re-description based on freshly collected specimens. Morphology and molecular analysis confirm that M. hodgarti is a species of synbranchid eel of the genus Ophichthys as previously hypothesized.

Ophichthys hodgarti can be distinguished from its congeners by the presence of paired, separate gill openings, extent of scalation anterior to the vent, body colouration and vertebral counts. Information on its distribution and ecology is also provided. This species is known only from the Siang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh, India.