Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation on the PC-5 and PC-6 Points Alleviated Hypotension after Epidural Anaesthesia, Depending on the Stimulus Frequency

Neuraxial blockade causes arterial hypotension. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) at the Neiguan (PC-6) and Jianshi (PC-5) reduces the severity of hypotension after spinal anaesthesia, but did not clarify the optimal stimulus frequency. We hypothesized that the stimulus frequency of TENS at the PC-6 and PC-5 points would influence the severity of hypotension after epidural anaesthesia. 65 ASA I or II male patients presenting for inguinal hernia repair were randomized to five groups: the control group received no treatment; the 2 Hz, 10 Hz, 20 Hz, and 40 Hz groups received TENS at a frequency of 2 Hz, 10 Hz, 20 Hz, and 40 Hz, respectively. The lowest SBP was significantly higher in the 40 Hz group [the control, 84 (74–110) mmHg; the 2 Hz, 96 (62–116) mmHg; the 10 Hz, 100 (68–110) mmHg; the 20 Hz, 96 (64–115) mmHg; the 40 Hz, 104 (75–140) mmHg: P = 0.004]. Significantly less patients experienced hypotension in the 40 Hz group [the control, 78%; the 2 Hz, 43%; the 10 Hz, 38%; the 20 Hz, 38%; the 40 Hz, 8%: P = 0.008]. TENS on the PC-6 and PC-5 points reduced the severity and incidence of hypotension after epidural anaesthesia, depending on the stimulus frequency

Critical role of the MCAM-ETV4 axis triggered by extracellular S100A8/A9 in breast cancer aggressiveness

Metastatic breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-associated death in women. The progression of this fatal disease is associated with inflammatory responses that promote cancer cell growth and dissemination, eventually leading to a reduction of overall survival. However, the mechanism(s) of the inflammation-boosted cancer progression remains unclear. In this study, we found for the first time that an extracellular cytokine, S100A8/A9, accelerates breast cancer growth and metastasis upon binding to a cell surface receptor, melanoma cell adhesion molecule (MCAM). Our molecular analyses revealed an important role of ETS translocation variant 4 (ETV4), which is significantly activated in the region downstream of MCAM upon S100A8/A9 stimulation, in breast cancer progression in vitro as well as in vivo. The MCAM-mediated activation of ETV4 induced a mobile phenotype called epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in cells, since we found that ETV4 transcriptionally upregulates ZEB1, a strong EMT inducer, at a very high level. In contrast, downregulation of either MCAM or ETV4 repressed EMT, resulting in greatly weakened tumor growth and lung metastasis. Overall, our results revealed that ETV4 is a novel transcription factor regulated by the S100A8/A9-MCAM axis, which leads to EMT through ZEB1 and thereby to metastasis in breast cancer cells. Thus, therapeutic strategies based on our findings might improve patient outcomes

DNAX-activating protein 10 (DAP10) membrane adaptor associates with receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) and modulates the RAGE-triggered signaling pathway in human keratinocytes.

The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is involved in the pathogenesis of many inflammatory, degenerative, and hyperproliferative diseases, including cancer. Previously, we revealed mechanisms of downstream signaling from ligand-activated RAGE, which recruits TIRAP/MyD88. Here, we showed that DNAX-activating protein 10 (DAP10), a transmembrane adaptor protein, also binds to RAGE. By artificial oligomerization of RAGE alone or RAGE-DAP10, we found that RAGE-DAP10 heterodimer formation resulted in a marked enhancement of Akt activation, whereas homomultimeric interaction of RAGE led to activation of caspase 8. Normal human epidermal keratinocytes exposed to S100A8/A9, a ligand for RAGE, at a nanomolar concentration mimicked the pro-survival response of RAGE-DAP10 interaction, although at a micromolar concentration, the cells mimicked the pro-apoptotic response of RAGE-RAGE. In transformed epithelial cell lines, A431 and HaCaT, in which endogenous DAP10 was overexpressed, and S100A8/A9, even at a micromolar concentration, led to cell growth and survival due to RAGE-DAP10 interaction. Functional blocking of DAP10 in the cell lines abrogated the Akt phosphorylation from S100A8/A9-activated RAGE, eventually leading to an increase in apoptosis. Finally, S100A8/A9, RAGE, and DAP10 were overexpressed in the psoriatic epidermis. Our findings indicate that the functional interaction between RAGE and DAP10 coordinately regulates S100A8/A9-mediated survival and/or apoptotic response of keratinocytes

Apterichtus equatorialis Myers & Wade 1941

<i>Apterichtus equatorialis</i> (Myers & Wade 1941) <p>Table 1</p> <p> <i>Caecula equatorialis</i> Myers & Wade 1941:75, Pl. 11 (type locality North of Barrington Island, Galápagos Islands, holotype LACM 21723).</p> <p> <i>Caecula (Sphagebranchus) gymnocelus</i> Böhlke 1953:325, Fig. 1 (type locality East of Isla Angel de la Guarda, Gulf of California, Mexico, holotype SU 17589).</p> <p> <i>Apterichtus equatorialis</i>: McCosker 1977:66.</p> <p> <b>Diagnosis</b>. An elongate species with: tail 1.8–2.0, head 11–16, and body depth 43–50 in total length; 3 preopercular pores and 3 pores in supratemporal canal; teeth conical, uniserial on jaws and vomer; 4–5 vomerine teeth; in preservative, body coloration uniform light tan, overlain with fine sparse brown speckling, branchial region and top of head with irregular small dark spots and blotches; and MVF 59–138, total vertebrae 132–146 (n=9).</p> <p> <b>Size</b>. The largest specimen examined is 312 mm, a male.</p> <p> <b>Distribution</b>. From the eastern tropical Pacific between the Gulf of California and the Galápagos, captured by rotenone, dredge and trawl in 10–134 m over sand and mud bottoms.</p> <p> <b>Remarks.</b> The holotype was damaged during its capture by dredge and only the head and trunk remain. Extrapolation of that measurement (93 mm) would indicate that the specimen was <i>ca.</i> 185–210 mm in total length. Few photographs of this species exist; a color photograph of a live individual and a freshly captured specimen appear in Allen & Robertson (1994:50–51). The number of vertebrae of our specimens of <i>Apterichtus equatorialis</i> appears to be quite broad within its range. Although we have only 8 countable specimens (the holotype has been severed and other specimens are too minute and poorly preserved to be counted), it appears that northern specimens have significantly fewer vertebrae. Those from Baja California have 132, 132, 135, and 136, from Panama has 139, from Galápagos have 140, 141, and the specimen from 03°15’S, 80°19’W has 146. We are unable to find any other differences between those specimens.</p> <p> <b>Material examined.</b> 14 specimens, 60–312 mm TL, including the holotype (LACM 21723 ex AHF 12, head and trunk region only), Santa Fe Id. (Barrington Id.), Galápagos Is. (00o43'S, 90o01'W), 134 m. SU 17589, holotype of <i>Caecula gymnocelus</i>, 217 mm, Angel de la Guarda Island, Gulf of California, Mexico (29o21'N, 113o19'W), 106– 113 m. SU 17590, 240 mm, paratype of <i>C. gymnocelus</i>, collected with the holotype. LACM 23581 (ex AHF 1057–40), 2(72–75 mm), Angel de la Guarda Id., Gulf of California, Mexico (29o21'N, 113o19'W), 93 m. LACM 23852 (ex AHF 1113–40), 2(115-282 mm), NE of Espiritu Santo Is., Gulf of California, Mexico (24°32’N, 110°20’W), 106 m. LACM 23853 (ex AHF 1037-40), 2(270–312 mm), Boca de la Trinidad, Gulf of California, Mexico (23°38’N, 109°30’W), 93– 97 m. ANSP 117436, 272 mm, Ecuador (03°15’S, 80°19’W), 32 m. LACM 43673, 4(60–64 mm), Galápagos, Darwin Id. (01°40’N, 92°01’W), 46 m.</p>Published as part of <i>Hibino, Yusuke, 2015, A review of the finless snake eels of the genus Apterichtus (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae), with the description of five new species, pp. 49-78 in Zootaxa 3941 (1)</i> on page 60, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3941.1.2, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/288211">http://zenodo.org/record/288211</a&gt

Apterichtus mysi Hibino, 2015, n. sp.

<i>Apterichtus mysi</i> n. sp. <p>Figures 13–14, Tables 1, 5</p> <p> <b>Holotype</b>. BPBM 11843, 298 mm, male, Marquesas Islands, Fatu Hiva Island, off point at N end of Hanauu Bay (10o29’26”S, 138o38’56”W), depth 35 m, captured using rotenone over sand bottom by J.E. Randall, D. Cannoy and R. McNair, 21 Apr. 1971.</p> <p> <b>Paratypes.</b> 9 specimens, 167–301 mm. BPBM 41104, 277 mm, gravid female, and CAS 234136, 298 mm, collected with the holotype. BPBM 11908, 249 mm, Marquesas Islands, Tahuata Island, off point at S end of Vaitahu Bay (09o57'S, 139o05'W), depth 35–40 m, captured using rotenone over sand and rubble bottom by J.E. Randall <i>et al</i>., 23 Apr. 1971. BPBM 11891, 241 mm, Marquesas Islands, Nuku Hiva Island, Baie Hatuarua, off Nuka River (10o29'S, 138o38'W), depth 53–59 m, captured using dredge by D.M. Devaney, 18 Sept. 1967. MNHN 2001-1089, 5 (167–301 mm), Nuku Hiva, depth 45–64 m, 24 Aug. 1997.</p> <p> <b>Non-paratypes.</b> MNHN 2014-2819, two specimens, 160+ and 240+ mm (extrapolated total lengths ~ 190 mm and 280 mm), badly damaged during capture but identifiable as this new species.</p> <p> <b>Diagnosis</b>. An elongate species with: tail 2.2–2.4, head 17–18, and body depth 58–69 in total length; snout moderately pointed in lateral view, dorsal profile <i>ca.</i> 45–50o above lower jaw; 3 preopercular pores and 3 pores in supratemporal canal; teeth conical, uniserial on jaws and vomer; 5–6 vomerine teeth; body mostly pale in preservative, with fine brown speckling on the dorsal surface of body and tail; and MVF 75–148, total vertebrae 146–153 (n=10).</p> <p> <b>Counts and measurements (in mm) of the holotype (those of the paratypes summarized in Table 5).</b> Total length 298; head 17.3; trunk 147.7; tail 133; body depth at gill openings 4.9; body width at gill openings 4.0; body depth at anus 4.0; body width at anus 3.6; head depth at branchial basket 5.7; head width at branchial basket 4.7; snout 3.4; tip of snout to rictus 3.2; tip of snout to tip of lower jaw 2.5; eye diameter 1.3; interorbital distance 1.6; gill-opening length ~1.8; isthmus width ~1.0. Vertebral formula 76–151. Lateral-line pores difficult to discern, 6 in branchial region, ~80 pores before the anus.</p> <p> <b>Description.</b> Body elongate, nearly cylindrical throughout, snout and tail tip sharply pointed, depth at gill openings 59–83 in TL. Branchial basket slightly wider and deeper than body. Head and trunk 1.8 in TL; head 17–18 in TL, 7.8–9.2 in trunk. Snout pointed, its underside somewhat rounded and bisected by a groove (Figs. 13–14). Lower jaw included, its tip slightly in advance of eye. Slope of dorsal surface of snout approximately 35° relative to underside of snout. Lower jaw included, its tip slightly in advance of eye; snout extends beyond tip of lower jaw by slightly less than lower jaw length; upper and lower lips meet when mouth is closed. Mouth moderately elongate. Rictus well behind rear margin of eye. An obvious crease extends posteriorly in upper lip from beneath eye to rictus. Eye moderately developed, 4.2–5.1 in upper jaw and 12–15 in head, its anterior margin behind tip of lower jaw, its center in advance of middle of upper jaw. Anterior nostril within a short tube, approximately one-fourth the diameter of the eye, its base in anterior third of snout and anterolaterally directed when viewed from above. Posterior nostril opens in outer lip beneath anterior margin of eye. Branchial openings low, ventral; branchial region modestly expanded, creating a bulbous region in posterior half of head.</p> <p>Head pores (Fig. 13) small. Single median interorbital and temporal pores. Supraorbital pores 1+4, infraorbital pores 5-6+2, supratemporal pores 3, lower jaw pores 4, preopercular pores 3. Lateral-line pores difficult to discern, 6 above branchial region, ~80 before anus.</p> <p>Teeth (Fig. 14) uniserial, small, conical and slightly recurved. Intermaxillary with a chevron of 5–6 teeth (the largest in the jaw), followed by a short gap and a linear row of 5 small vomerine teeth. Jaw teeth nearly subequal, small, 11–12 teeth in each side of upper jaw and 11–12 teeth in each side of lower jaw.</p> <p>Body mostly colorless in alcohol preservative (preserved in formalin and transferred to alcohol more than 15 years ago), however a fine brown speckling is present on the body and tail of some specimens.</p> <p> <b>Size</b>. The largest specimen examined is 301 mm, a female with eggs ~ 0.6–0.9 mm in diameter.</p> <p> <b>Etymology</b>. Named in honor of Mysi Hoang of the California Academy of Sciences for her many contributions to ichthyology, to be treated as a noun in apposition.</p> <p> <b>Distribution</b>. Known from the Marquesas Islands, Polynesia, captured over sand with associated rock and coral reef bottoms using ichthyocides and dredges between 35–64 m depth.</p> <p> <b>Remarks.</b> The new species differs from its congeners in the size and shape of its snout, the position of its eye, its cephalic pore configuration, and in its vertebral numbers. It is most similar to those species which share its cephalic pore condition of possessing 3 supratemporal pores and 3 preopercular pores, viz. <i>Apterichtus anguiformis, A. australis, A. equatorialis, A. flavicaudus</i> and <i>A. kendalli.</i> It differs considerably from the New World species <i>A. equatorialis</i> and <i>A. kendalli</i> in having a shorter tail (2.2–2.4 vs. 1.8–2.0 in TL) and in having slightly more total vertebrae (146–153 vs. 137–145).</p> <p> <i>Apterichtus mysi</i> is most similar in cephalic appearance and vertebral number to <i>A. australis</i> and <i>A. flavicaudus</i> but differs from them in having a shorter and less acute snout (17–20% vs. 19–23% of HL), a shorter anterior nostril tube (approximately 4 times in eye vs. 3 times in eye) and the tip of its lower jaw is in advance of a line beneath the anterior margin of the orbit (vs. lower jaw tip beneath the anterior margin of the orbit). It differs from its other congeners in having fewer supratemporal and preopercular pores. The subtle differences between <i>A. mysi</i> and those congeners appear to fit a pattern that other Marquesan eels display. David G. Smith of the National Museum of Natural History advised McCosker (2010:36) “that widely-dispersed species of Indo-Pacific eels occasionally possess endemic forms in the Marquesas”, a pattern that has become more substantiated by subsequent collections and studies.</p> <p> A 197 mm specimen of <i>A. klazingai</i> was collected together with the new species at Nuku Hiva (MNHN 2001- 1089).</p>Published as part of <i>Hibino, Yusuke, 2015, A review of the finless snake eels of the genus Apterichtus (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae), with the description of five new species, pp. 49-78 in Zootaxa 3941 (1)</i> on pages 70-73, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3941.1.2, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/288211">http://zenodo.org/record/288211</a&gt

Apterichtus kendalli Gilbert 1891

<i>Apterichtus kendalli</i> (Gilbert 1891) <p>Table 1</p> <p> <i>Sphagebranchus kendalli</i> Gilbert 1891:310 (type locality off Florida, Gulf of Mexico, holotype USNM 44304). <i>Verma kendalli</i>: Jordan and Evermann 1896:375.</p> <p> <i>Caecula kendalli</i>: Myers and Wade 1941:75.</p> <p> <i>Sphagebranchus sp. vel. acutirostris</i> (non Brisout de Barneville 1847): Cadenat and Marchal 1963:1240 (St. Helena Island record).</p> <p> <i>Apterichtus kendalli</i>: McCosker 1977:66.</p> <p> <b>Diagnosis</b>. An elongate species with: tail 1.8–1.9, head 14–19, and body depth 53–67 in total length; 3 preopercular pores and 3 pores in supratemporal canal; teeth conical, uniserial on jaws and vomer; 5–7 vomerine teeth; body coloration nearly uniform pale yellow to tan, fresh specimens have a fine sprinkling of melanophores which can take on a mottled or freckled appearance; two brown blotches behind the eye surround a pale patch about equal to eye; and MVF 62–142, total vertebrae 137–145 (n=14).</p> <p> <b>Size</b>. The largest specimen examined is 542 mm, sex unknown.</p> <p> <b>Distribution</b>. Known from the western Atlantic, from the Carolinas, Florida, Bermuda, Bahamas, Lesser Antilles and Brazil, and St. Helena Island, from between 6–401 m (mostly 30–80 m) depth.</p> <p> <b>Remarks.</b> Most of this treatment is taken from McCosker <i>et al</i>. (1989:321–322). Leiby (1982) described and illustrated the leptocephalus of <i>A. kendalli.</i> The St. Helena record is based on Cadenat and Marchal’s (1963) description of 15 specimens (90–422 mm) collected by dredge at 43 m depth off Lemon Valley, St. Helena. A 363 mm specimen from that collection was described and illustrated by Blache and Bauchot (1972:702–705) and agrees with <i>A. kendalli</i> in its cephalic pore condition, dentition, and vertebral number (143). Leiby (1981) stated that larvae identified as <i>A. kendalli</i> by Blache (1977) and by Fahay and Obenchain (1978) are actually <i>Callechelys muraena.</i></p> <p> <b>Material examined.</b> 26 specimens, 78–542 mm TL, including the holotype (USNM 44304, <i>ca.</i> 169 mm TL). Those specimens are listed in McCosker <i>et al</i>. (1989:322).</p>Published as part of <i>Hibino, Yusuke, 2015, A review of the finless snake eels of the genus Apterichtus (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae), with the description of five new species, pp. 49-78 in Zootaxa 3941 (1)</i> on pages 65-66, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3941.1.2, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/288211">http://zenodo.org/record/288211</a&gt

Apterichtus hatookai Hibino, Shibata & Kimura 2014

<i>Apterichtus hatookai</i> Hibino, Shibata & Kimura 2014 <p>Figure 1, Table 1</p> <p> <i>Apterichtus klazingai</i> (non Weber): Takagi <i>et al.</i> 2010:18 (Ainan, Ehime Prefecture, Japan).</p> <p> <i>Apterichtus hatookai</i> Hibino, Shibata & Kimura 2014: (p. 2, published online and lacking pagination) (type locality Ehime Prefecture, Shikoku Island, Japan, holotype OMNH-P 13794).</p> <p> <b>Diagnosis.</b> An elongate species with: tail 1.6–1.7, head 17–20, and body depth 67–111 in total length; 4 preopercular pores and 7 pores in supratemporal canal; teeth conical, uniserial on jaws and vomer; a single vomerine tooth; body coloration yellowish brown to dark brown with small black punctuations, pale brown blotches on head and breast; fresh specimens have reddish brown blotches, slightly paler along mid-flanks, brilliant orange blotches on head (Fig. 1) and breast, some larger than eye; and MVF 54–139, total vertebrae 137–141 (n=4).</p> <p> <b>Size.</b> The largest specimen is 534 mm TL, sex unknown. The paratype OMNH-P 13802, 519 mm TL, is a female with unripened eggs.</p> <p> <b>Distribution.</b> Known from western Shikoku and Honshu Islands, Japan, and from SE Fujian, China. Obtained in fish markets and collected and photographed over sandy bottoms at 4–17 m depth (KPM-NR 1360, 7818, 21557, 26782, 39713, 61174, 61179, 61184, 66376, 89201, and 91033).</p> <p> <b>Remarks.</b> This recently described species differs from its congeners in a combination of characters including its cephalic pore numbers, vertebral counts, body proportions, and its vivid orange-blotched coloration in life.</p> <p> <b>Material examined.</b> 5 specimens, 265–534 mm TL, including OMNH-P 13794, 478.5 mm TL, the holotype, Morode, Ainan, Minami-uwa, Ehime Prefecture, Shikoku Island, Japan, 4– 5 m. And paratypes: FRLM 9344, 265.0 mm TL, Kumano Basin, Mie Prefecture, Honshu Island, Japan; HUMZ 207074, 418.5 mm TL, Honshu Island, Japan; OMNH-P 13802, 519.4 mm TL, Morode, Ainan, Mina Uwa, Ehime Prefecture, Shikoku Island, Japan, 7 m. NTOU AE 6661, 534 mm TL, SE Fujian, China, date and further collection data unknown.</p>Published as part of <i>Hibino, Yusuke, 2015, A review of the finless snake eels of the genus Apterichtus (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae), with the description of five new species, pp. 49-78 in Zootaxa 3941 (1)</i> on page 62, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3941.1.2, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/288211">http://zenodo.org/record/288211</a&gt

Apterichtus ansp Bohlke 1968

<i>Apterichtus ansp</i> (Böhlke 1968) <p>Table 1</p> <p> <i>Verma ansp</i> Böhlke 1968:3, Fig. 1 (type locality Nassau, Bahamas, holotype ANSP 98366). <i>Apterichtus ansp</i>: McCosker 1977:66.</p> <p> <b>Diagnosis</b>. An elongate species with: tail 1.7–1.8, head 12–15, and body depth 43–53 in total length; 4 preopercular pores and 5 pores in supratemporal canal; teeth conical, uniserial on jaws and vomer; 3–4 vomerine teeth; body coloration nearly uniform pale to tan, fresh specimens have a fine sprinkling of melanophores over the dorsal surface of the head and body, with pale areas behind eye and along lower jaw; and MVF 54–128, total vertebrae 123–132 (n=25).</p> <p> <b>Size</b>. The largest specimen examined is 415 mm, sex unknown, from Cooper’s Island, Bermuda.</p> <p> <b>Distribution</b>. Known from United States from the Carolinas to the Florida Keys, Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Lesser Antilles, and off Brazil, from the shoreline to 38 m depth.</p> <p> <b>Remarks.</b> This treatment is primarily taken from McCosker <i>et al</i>. (1989:319–321). Leiby (1982) described and illustrated the leptocephalus of <i>A. ansp.</i> This species is most similar to <i>A. gracilis</i> from the eastern Atlantic, which differs in its posterior nostril condition (Blache and Bauchot, 1972:714–717).</p> <p> <b>Material examined.</b> 41 specimens, 58–415 mm TL, including the holotype (ANSP 98366, 222.5 mm TL). Those specimens are listed in McCosker <i>et al</i>. (1989:320–321).</p>Published as part of <i>Hibino, Yusuke, 2015, A review of the finless snake eels of the genus Apterichtus (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae), with the description of five new species, pp. 49-78 in Zootaxa 3941 (1)</i> on page 54, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3941.1.2, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/288211">http://zenodo.org/record/288211</a&gt

Apterichtus caecus Linnaeus 1758

<i>Apterichtus caecus</i> (Linnaeus 1758) <p>Figure 3, Table 1</p> <p> <i>Muraena caeca</i> Linnaeus (ex Brander) 1758:245 (type locality Mediterranean Sea [original: "in Mari Mediterraneo"]. Type unknown or lost; based on a description in manuscript by E. Brander. Neotype MNHN-IC-0000-2125, described herein, from Iviça, a Balearic Isle off Spain in the Mediterranean.</p> <p> <i>Apterichtus caecus</i> (Linnaeus 1758): Blache & Bauchot 1972:711.</p> <p> <i>Caecula apterygia</i> Vahl 1794:156, an unneeded substitute name for <i>Muraena caeca</i> Linnaeus 1758.</p> <p> <i>Caecilia branderiana</i> Lacepède 1800:134, an unneeded substitute name for <i>Muraena caeca</i> Linnaeus 1758.</p> <p> <i>Apterichtus caecus</i>: Delaroche 1809:325.</p> <p> <b>Diagnosis</b>. An elongate species with: tail 1.6–1.7, head 12–15, and body depth 56–83 in total length; 4 preopercular pores and 5 pores in supratemporal canal; teeth conical, uniserial on jaws, becoming biserial on vomer of large specimens; 8–14 vomerine teeth; body coloration (when fresh) ochre with numerous small dark brown spots, those spots forming a continuous mid-dorsal band, yellowish on ventral surface, head with dark brown spots over a pale background, a prominent horizontal white patch beneath and behind the orbit (Fig. 3); and MVF 52–134, total vertebrae 132–139 (n=6).</p> <p> <b>Size</b>. The largest known specimen is 60 cm.</p> <p> <b>Distribution</b>. Known from 0–85 m depth, usually in fine sand. Western and eastern Mediterranean, eastern Atlantic south to Azores, Madeira, and the Canary islands.</p> <p> <b>Remarks.</b> <i>Muraena caeca</i> was described by Linnaeus (1758) from the Mediterranean in a terse 42 word unillustrated description. Subsequent authors agree that the type specimen is lost. The next mention of <i>M. caeca</i> was that of Duméril (1806) who created the generic name <i>Apterichtus</i> for <i>caeca</i>. The first comprehensive treatment of the species was that of Delaroche (1809) in which he well-described and illustrated a specimen from Iviça, a Balearic Island in the Mediterranean off Spain. He considered Linnaeus’s description to be “très-exacte, mais trèsincomplete” and on the basis of his “28 ½ centimeter” specimen provided an extensive description and illustration. The specimen now resides in the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (Paris) and was redescribed and illustrated by Blache and Bauchot (1972:711–714) along with another specimen from eastern Africa. Blache and Bauchot (p. 711) erroneously stated that the specimen (“n o MNHN, Paris: 2125”) collected by Delaroche from the Baléares was 497 mm TL. Their other specimen (“n o MNHN, Paris: 1884–426”) was said to be 284 mm TL and to have been collected by Vaillant off east Africa. Because of the disagreement with the length so precisely cited by Delaroche we presume that Blache and Bauchot erroneously reversed the collection data and sizes of the two specimens, and we presume that the 284 mm specimen is that of Delaroche. We have examined the Delaroche specimen and find it to be an adequate, albeit slightly twisted, specimen. It has 137 total vertebrae (52 preanal) and the following measurements (in mm): total length 284; head length 21.3; trunk length 94.7; jaw length ca. 8.4 (the jaw is cut at the rictus on both sides); snout length 3.6; eye diameter 1.0; interorbital width 1.3; body depth at gill opening ca. 5.4; and body width at gill opening ca. 4.6. Its dentition was illustrated by Blache and Bauchot (Figure 7, p. 713). It has the following cephalic pores: single median interorbital and temporal pores; supraorbital pores 1+4, infraorbital pores 5+2, supratemporal pores 5, lower jaw pores 5, preopercular pores 4; lateral-line pores difficult to count accurately due to small size and waxy exudate, 8 in branchial region.</p> <p> Our description of <i>Apterichtus caecus</i> is primarily based on Pereira and Aguiar’s (1979) description of five Azorean specimens, as well as Blache and Bauchot’s (1972) description and illustrations, and McCosker’s examination of the neotype and a specimen from Italy. Blache and Bauchot’s second specimen (497 mm) has broadly separated biserial vomerine teeth. It agrees in other body proportions, pores and vertebrae (135). Wirtz <i>et al</i>. (2008: Figure 3) published a color photograph of an <i>A. caecus</i> taken at night in 14 m from Madeira. They also published a color photograph (Figure 2) taken in 20 m from Madeira of what appears to be <i>A. caecus</i>; it well demonstrates the ochre cephalic coloration of that species.</p> <p> Blache and Bauchot (1972) and Leiby (1990) remarked that <i>A. anguiformis</i> and <i>A. caecus</i> have been confused with each other during the last two centuries and that most earlier references to adults and larvae are not clearly attributable to either species. In that no types existed for Linnaeus’ <i>Muraena caeca,</i> Blache and Bauchot (1972:709–710) analyzed its meager description and concluded that <i>caeca</i> most probably was based on the Mediterranean species of <i>Apterichtus</i> which has 135–138 vertebrae … and a preanal distance of 40.5–42.3% of the total length, rather than the species with the higher vertebral count (150–157), <i>A. anguiformis</i>. We agree with their conclusion and feel that it is appropriate to designate a neotype for <i>Apterichtus caecus</i> (Linnaeus 1758) in our revision. We herein do so and designate MNHN-IC-0000-2125 to be the neotype.</p> <p> <b>Material examined.</b> 2 specimens, 284–504 mm TL, including the neotype (MNHN-IC-0000- 2125, 284 mm), from Iviça, a Balearic Island in the Mediterranean off Spain. From Italy: Strait of Messina, MCZ 40861, 504 mm.</p>Published as part of <i>Hibino, Yusuke, 2015, A review of the finless snake eels of the genus Apterichtus (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae), with the description of five new species, pp. 49-78 in Zootaxa 3941 (1)</i> on pages 56-57, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3941.1.2, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/288211">http://zenodo.org/record/288211</a&gt