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A new species of Congrid eel, Ariosoma melanospilos sp. nov., from Indian waters with taxonomic description of A. dolichopterum (Congridae: Bathymyrinae)

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Abstract

A new species of congrid eel, Ariosoma melanospilos sp. nov., is described from two specimens collected as bycatch landings of deep-sea trawlers at Colachel fish landing centre, off Kanyakumari, the southwest coast of India. The new species is distinguishable from all the known congeners in having two spots on both sides of the mid-dorsal temporal region (vs. absent in all congeners) and a wide interbranchial width of 25.0–30.3% head length. The new species resembles Ariosoma meeki (Jordan & Snyder, 1900) in possessing the unique character of two dark patches at the posterior margin of the eye but can be readily distinguished by the presence of a fifth supraorbital pore and three pores as ascending branch of the infraorbital canal behind the eye, three supratemporal pores (vs. absent in A. meeki) and four black spots on the temporal region. Genetic analysis reveals that the new species is closely related to Ariosoma anale (Poey, 1860) and A. meeki forming a clade with a genetic distance of 20.5% and 19.6%, respectively. We also report Ariosoma dolichopterum Karmovskaya, 2015, for the first time from Indian waters with meristic and morphological characters.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Director of ICAR–National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR), Lucknow, for providing financial support (under the Institute project on Exploration in marine islands) and encouragements. Sincere thanks are due to Dr. Emma S. Karmovskaya, P. P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, for valuable suggestions, providing literature and confirmation about the taxonomic identity of the species. We extend our gratitude to Mr. Rahul G. Kumar and Dr. Purushothaman, P. young professionals, ICAR-NBFGR, for their help in photography and molecular analysis. We are also grateful to an anonymous reviewer for providing constructive comments to improve the manuscript.

Sampling and field studies

All necessary permits for sampling and observational field studies have been obtained by the authors from the competent authorities and are mentioned in the acknowledgements.

Funding

The present work was supported financially by ICAR–National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh 226 002, India, Grant/Award Number: IXX12641.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICAR–National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, 226002, India

    Paramasivam Kodeeswaran, T. K Teena Jayakumar, S. Akash, T. T. Ajith Kumar & Kuldeep Kumar Lal

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  1. Paramasivam Kodeeswaran
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  2. T. K Teena Jayakumar
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  3. S. Akash
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  4. T. T. Ajith Kumar
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  5. Kuldeep Kumar Lal
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Contributions

PK performed taxonomic investigation and manuscript preparation. TJTK performed molecular phylogenetic analysis. SA conducted field sampling and specimen collection. TTAK did manuscript edition, and overall conceptual guidance was given by KKL. All authors read, approved and contributed to the manuscript.

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Correspondence to T. T. Ajith Kumar.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All applicable international, national and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed by the authors.

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Communicated by R. Thiel

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Kodeeswaran, P., Teena Jayakumar, T.K., Akash, S. et al. A new species of Congrid eel, Ariosoma melanospilos sp. nov., from Indian waters with taxonomic description of A. dolichopterum (Congridae: Bathymyrinae). Mar. Biodivers. 51, 47 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-021-01187-8

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