Echidna Forster [J. R.] 1788:81 Fem. Muraena echidna Gmelin 1789. No type species mentioned. The assumed type species Echidna variegata Forster is an unavailable name; type apparently Muraena echidna Gmelin 1789 = Muraena nebulosa Ahl 1789 by virtual tautonymy according to Böhlke & Randall 2000:216 [ref. 24493]. Kottelat maintains that the type was selected by Walbaum 1792; whereas Gmelin says, "Is it, as Forester says, a distinct genus" (but the genus was not mentioned), At that time, there is no doubt which genus was meant. •Valid as Echidna Forster 1788 -- (Hatooka in Masuda et al. 1984:25 [ref. 6441], Castle & McCosker 1986:166 [ref. 5645], Paxton et al. 1989:127 [ref. 12442], Böhlke et al. 1989:130 [ref. 13286], Chen et al. 1994:45 [ref. 22258], Böhlke et al. 1999:1646 [ref. 24692], Böhlke & Randall 2000:216 [ref. 24493], Böhlke & Smith 2003:704 [ref. 26990], Allen et al. 2006:246 [ref. 29005], Imamura 2009:17 [ref. 30434], Zhang et al. 2010:243 [ref. 31511], Smith 2012:5 [ref. 32155], Kottelat 2013:41 [ref. 32989], Fricke et al. 2018:33 [ref. 35805], Golani & Fricke 2018:19 [ref. 36273], Fricke et al. 2019:50 [ref. 36673], Ramos-Castro et al. 2020:83 [ref. 37651]). Current status: Valid as Echidna Forster 1788. Muraenidae: Muraeninae.