''Pylorobranchus'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
worm eel known from the waters off of eastern
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
and from the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
.
Species
There are currently 2 recognized species in this genus:
* ''
Pylorobranchus hearstorum''
J. E. McCosker, 2014 (Gigantic worm eel)
[McCosker, J.E. (2014): A Gigantic Deepwater Worm Eel (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae) from the Verde Island Passage, Philippine Archipelago. ''Pp. 333-340 in: Williams, G.C. & Gosliner, T.M. (eds.): The Coral Triangle. The 2011 Hearst Philippine Biodiversity Expedition, 2014: 1-592''.]
* ''
Pylorobranchus hoi''
J. E. McCosker & H. M. Chen, 2012
Etymology
The genus name is derived from the Greek ''pylorus'', meaning "gatekeeper" and ''branchos'' meaning "gill" in reference to a unique lappet-like structure in front of the gill opening.
References
Myrophinae
Taxa named by John E. McCosker
{{Ophichthidae-stub