New Species Of Fish Discovered In Tamil Nadu Coast
Update: 2022-07-08 09:50 IST
New Species Of Fish Discovered In Tamil Nadu Coast
Two new marine fish species have been discovered in Tamil Nadu by the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR), a division of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research.
One of them was known as "Dussumieria modakandai," which is a species of sardine from the city's Pattinapakkam fish landing centre. The residents of the area eat it. In December 2021, the discovery was reported in the international journal Fish Biology.
From a specimen gathered at the Colachel fish landing centre in the Kanniyakumari district, another new species was discovered of eel. It was identified that is a member of the congrid eel group. Its scientific name is "Ariosoma albimaculata" (white spotted stout conger).
The name Albimaculata, which refers to the white spot on the dorsal-fin origin, is derived from the Latin words albus, which means white, and maculatus, which means speckled. The eel measures between 240 to 487 mm in length and has a grey, glossy body with dark markings or marks on the dorsal-posterior edges of its eyes.
According to NBGFR sources, the species' description, is based on the 10 specimens that were taken from the deep-sea trawl bycatch at the Colachel fish landing centre.The fisherman said that the eel was caught at a depth of 200 metres along the Arabian Sea.
It was non-toxic and lived in odd places like the cracks of underwater seamounts and continental slopes. The species has only been found thus far in the coastal waters of Kanniyakumari, but it may be found throughout India's south-west coast. This congrid eel is the eighth species to be identified in Indian waters; the others were all trawl landing bycatch.
Meanwhile, the variety and evolution of the eel groups would be better understood through a thorough sample to comprehend the characteristics of the fish group and biodiversity along the Indian coast and islands in Tamil Nadu.