66270 Protanguilla palau Johnson, Ida & Sakaue, 2012 Protanguillidae Protoanguillids Anguilliformes Teleostei Palauan primitive cave eel Western Pacific: Republic of Palau. Presently known from a western fringing reef of Ngemelis Island, in a reef cave at 35 m depth. As an elopomorph, it almost certainly has a leptocephalus larval form, and letptocephali (particularly those of anguilliforms) are known to have long planktonic durations (2-10 months). Accordingly, the authors believe that <i>Protoanguilla</i> probably has a considerably broader distribution than currently known, even though no leptocephali matching its unique meristic formula (fewer than 90 vertebrae, more than 170 dorsal fin and anal fin rays) have been identified in extensive worldwide larval fish collections. In any case, historically, the <i>Protoanguilla</i> lineage, estimated to have diverged ca 200Ma, must have been much more widely distributed, because the Palau-Kyushu Ridge formed only around 60-70 Ma (Ref. 87802). NSMT-P 98249 2009 Protanguilla palau 35 m