The second confirmed record and a significant range extension for the White Ribbon Eel (Pseudechidna brummeri) in Australia (2020)
Citation
Freeman, A., & Pogonoski, J. J. (2022). The second confirmed record and a significant range extension for the White Ribbon Eel (’Pseudechidna brummeri’) in Australia. North Queensland Naturalist, (52), 47–48. https://doi.org/10.15468/pz9rbq accessed via GBIF.org on 2025-07-18.Description
The white ribbon eel, Pseudechidna brummeri (Bleeker 1858) is a long, slender moray (family Muraenidae), inhabiting sheltered coastal reefs and seagrass beds of the tropical Indo-West Central Pacific region. Like many morays, it is widely distributed from the Western Indian Ocean, eastwards to the Society Islands, and northwards to southern Japan (Smith et. al. 2019). In Australia it was first recorded from two specimens collected at Murray Island (a.k.a Mer Island, ca. 09°55'S, 144°03'E) in the Torres Strait which are deposited in the Australian Museum, Sydney (Whitley, 1929). However, despite this published record, nearly 100 years later the species has not made its way into Australian fish checklists. This note describes the sighting of an adult-sized white ribbon eel off Green Island, 28km north east of the city of Cairns in far north Queensland.Taxonomic Coverages
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Pseudechidna brummericommon name: White Ribbon Eel rank: species
Geographic Coverages
Green Island, Great Barrier Reef
Bibliographic Citations
Contacts
Alastair Freemanoriginator
position: Principal Investigator
QPWS
Atherton
4883
Queensland
AU
email: Alastair.Freeman@des.qld.gov.au
Alastair Freeman
metadata author
position: Principal Investigator
QPWS
Atherton
4883
Queensland
AU
email: Alastair.Freeman@des.qld.gov.au
OBIS Australia Node manager
publisher
position: OBIS Australia Data Manager
CSIRO National Collections and Marine Infrastructure Data Centre
Castray Esplande
Hobart
7000
Tasmania
AU
email: obisau@csiro.au
homepage: http://www.obis.org.au
Alastair Freeman
administrative point of contact
position: Principal Investigator
QPWS
Atherton
4883
Queensland
AU
email: Alastair.Freeman@des.qld.gov.au
John Pogonoski
administrative point of contact
position: Principal Investigator
Australian National Fish Collection, CSIRO
GPO Box 1538
Hobart
7001
Tasmania
AU