First Report Confirming the Occurrence of Jumping Halfbeak Hemiramphus archipelagicus Collette and Parin 1978 (Beloniformes: Hemiramphidae) from the Western Bay of Bengal

The Jumping halfbeak, Hemiramphus archipelagicus Collette and Parin 1978, has been previously reported from the west coast of India (Arabian Sea). During a taxonomic study on Hemiramphidae, eight specimens of H. archipelagicus, collected from the coastal water of Odisha, east coast of India, were examined. The species is characterized by 13–14 dorsal-fin rays, 9–12 anal-fin rays, 11–12 pectoral-fin rays, 6 pelvic-fin rays, 25–28 gillrakers on first gill arch and 36–41 pre-dorsal scales, body width less than the depth (62.1–62.3% in body depth), pectoral-fin short (17.2–18.4% in SL) not reaching anterior margin of nasal pit when folded forward, dorsal fin without well-developed anterior lobe and absence of vertical bars on the sides of body. This is the first report confirming the occurrence of H. archipelagicus from the east coast of India (western Bay of Bengal) suggesting that this species is widely distributed throughout the Indian coast

New Geographical Record for Muraenid Eels (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae) along the Northeast Arabian Sea, Western Indian Ocean

Fishes of family Muraenidae, popularly known as moray eels, are one of the most diverse groups among true eels. Gymnothorax is the most predominant genus in terms of diversity along Indian coastline (31 species including recent description and distributional records), but they rarely form the fishery of commercial importance. Gymnothorax dorsalis, species of elongated unpatterned moray eels characterized by eight to nine pre-dorsal vertebrae, three infraorbital pores and low dorsal and anal fin united with caudal fins is reported for the first time from the west coast of India. Gymnothorax reticularis, reticulated patterned eel with 18–19 vertical dark bars, five pre-dorsal vertebrae and 10–11 vomerine teeth is also reported for the first time from the northwest coast of India

New Distributional Records for Cardinalfishes (Perciformes/ Apogonidae) from North East Arabian Sea, Western Indian Ocean

Fishes of family Apogonidae popularly known as cardinalfishes are of high ecological importance owing to its trophic role. Though the presence of apogonids from the coastal waters of the northeastern Arabian sea are reflected in diets of predatory fishes of the region and bycatch of trawls, limited reports are available on species composition. Three species namely Apogonichthyoides pseudotaeniatus (Gon, 1986), Jaydia queketti (Gilchrist, 1903) and Jaydia lineata (Temmink& Schlegal, 1842) have been reported for the first time from the region, adding to the apogonids diversity of the region. Ostorhinchus fasciatus (White, 1790) is also reported for the first time from the coastal waters of Gujarat. Morphometric assessment of the four species revealed several discriminating attributes capable of separating the species from each other

Population genetics of Indian giant river-catfish, Sperata seenghala (Sykes, 1839) using microsatellite markers

The giant river-catfish Sperata seenghala is one of the commercially important freshwater catfishes of India with wide distribution in all major rivers and reservoirs. This fish has huge demand in domestic market due to high nutritional value and low number of intramuscular bones. Conversely, the culture practices for this fish have not yet been standardized and capture fisheries is the only source to meet the demand. This may lead to over exploitation of resources and subsequent population reduction. Knowledge on genetic structure of populations is prerequisite to formulate sustainable management and conservation measures. In the present study, 15 microsatellites were used to characterize population genetics of S. seenghala collected from river Brahmaputra, Ganga, Godavari, Mahanadi and Narmada. Locus-wise, the number of alleles varied from 8 to 19 with an average of 12 alleles per locus. The mean observed and expected heterozygosity values varied from 0.622 to 0.699 and 0.733 to 0.774, respectively. Several loci have shown deviation from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium and no significant linkage disequilibrium between pairs of loci was detected. Pair-wise FST values between populations ranged from 0.135 (Brahmaputra–Ganga) to 0.173 (Brahmaputra–Narmada) and confirmed the moderate to high genetic differentiation among the populations. AMOVA, Structure and Principal Co-ordinate analyses showed significant genetic differentiation among the sampled populations of S. seenghala. A total of 65 private alleles were recorded across populations. This study confirmed the distinctiveness of each population of S. seenghala from five major rivers of India. These populations could be treated as distinct management units (MUs) for assessment and management purpose

Fisheries Research

Not AvailableParapenaeopsis stylifera (H. Milne Edwards, 1837), popularly known as Kiddi shrimp, constitutes an important fishery resources along the Indian coast with wide geographical distribution. Despite its economic importance, the genetic stock structure of the species is not investigated so far. Knowledge on genetic structure is essential for formulating sustainable management and conservation measures. Present study is carried out to characterize the five geographically isolated stocks of P. stylifera along the Indian coast using microsatellite markers. Eleven polymorphic microsatellites were developed in P. stylifera and used for genetic stock characterization. Including all the stocks, a total of 174 alleles were observed with a mean of 15.81 alleles per locus. Mean observed (Ho) and expected (He) heterozygosity values ranged from 0.641 to 0.692 and 0.710?0.743, respectively. Six loci shown deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and no significant linkage disequilibrium between loci pairs were detected. Pair-wise FST, AMOVA and Structure analyses indicated low genetic structure between the stocks of east (Bay of Bengal) and west (Arabian Sea) coasts of India. Based on the present study, P. stylifera stocks of east and west coast of India can be proposed as single management units (MUs), which require single monitoring and management practices

Molecular Phylogeny of genus Horaglanis (Indian Blind catfishes) within the family Clariidae

This data included Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene data for 14 species of Clariidae family. This data set has NJ tree file in Newick format.<br

Stolephorus tamilensis Pavan-Kumar & Jahageerdar & Jaiswar 2020, sp. nov.

Stolephorus tamilensis sp. nov. Proposed common name: Tamil anchovy (Fig. 2) Holotype: ZSI F12077 /2 (50.85 mm SL), Thoothukudi fish landing centre, Tamil Nadu, India (8.7642° N, 78.1348° E), 18 February 2015. Paratypes: All paratypes from Thoothukudi fish landing centre, Tamil Nadu, India, (8.7642° N, 78.1348° E), (Fig. 1) 18 February 2015: BNHS MF 10-12 (3 specimens, 48.48–51.16 mm SL), CIFE-FRM 945–971 (27 specimens, 47.37–53.64 mm SL) collected by Shardul S. Gangan on 18 February 2015. Diagnosis. A species of Stolephorus with the following combination of characters: relatively deep-bodied fish, 19.87–23.37% SL (mean 21.2%); eye relatively large, eye diameter 29.28–35.85% HL (mean 32.09%); posterior margin of preopercle indented; gill rakers 15–19 in upper series on first gill arch, 25–28 on in lower series, 40–47 in total; posterior tip of longest pectoral-fin ray not reaching pelvic-fin origin, pelvic-fin relatively short, 5.81–8.15% SL (mean 7.39%); no pre-dorsal spines and post-pelvic scutes, pre-pelvic scutes 5–6; dorsal-fin base length 13.85– 15.54% in SL (mean 14.57%); dorsal-fin origin is closer to base of caudal fin than to tip of snout; length from dorsal-fin origin to anal-fin origin 20.91–22.57 % in SL (mean 21.87%); anal-fin rays 17–19; numerous melanophores on dorsum and suborbital area. Description. Body cylindrical, laterally compressed. Dorsal profile of head and body slightly convex from snout tip to dorsal fin origin, somewhat straight from the last point to caudal peduncle. Ventral profile of head and body is convex from anterior lower jaw tip to base of pelvic-fin, slightly concave from post pelvic fin to anal-fin origin. Posterior margin of pre- opercule concave, indented. Numerous melanophores on dorsum and suborbital area. Somewhat straight from posterior end of anal-fin to origin of lower caudal-fin lobe. Caudal peduncle slightly deep than longer. Vertebrae 39–40 (two specimens examined). Belly covered with 5–6 sharp needle-like scutes anterior to pelvic-fin insertion. Pelvic-fin without spine. Pre-dorsal and post-pelvic scutes absent. Snout long, rounded, its length less than eye diameter. Mouth sub-terminal, extending backward beyond posterior margin of eye. Posterior end of the upper jaw rounded reaching to border of operculum. Lower jaw slender, extending beyond vertical through posterior margin of eye. Teeth pointed, small, slender, arranged in a single row in the pre maxilla, maxilla and lower jaw. Eye large, round, covered with adipose eye lid, positioned laterally on head dorsal to horizontal through pectoral-fin insertion, visible in dorsal view. Orbit elliptical. Nostrils close to each other, anterior to orbit. Inter orbital width less than eye diameter. Dorsal-fin rays ii–iii + 15, origin closer to base of caudal-fin than to tip of snout. Pair of pigment line in front of dorsal-fin as well as between caudal-fin and dorsal-fin is absent. Anal-fin rays iii + 17–19, its origin at vertical through middle of the dorsal-fin. Pectoral-fin rays I + 13, posterior tip of longest pectoral-fin ray not reaching pelvic-fin origin, pectoral-fin axillary scale found in some specimens but in the remained it was absent, may be lost during collection. Pelvic-fin rays i–ii + 7, longest pectoral-fin rays not reaching vertical through to base of dorsal-fin. Caudal-fin forked, upper and lower lobes of caudal-fin well-developed. Gill rakers long and thin on first branchial arch, 15 –19 on the upper arch, 25–28 on lower arch (Table 4). Colour. Colour of thirty specimens of Stolephorus tamilensis sp. nov. in fresh condition silvery whitish, very faint silvery stripe running along the lateral side; small dark pigment line running along upper border of anal fin. Distribution. Based on the collection of voucher specimens from present study, the type locality of Stolephorus tamilensis sp. nov. is Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu State of India 8.7642° N, 78.1348° E. Probably this species is distributed in Gulf of Mannar and along the Tamil Nadu State coast. Etymology. The species is named as “ tamilensis ” with reference to the Tamil Nadu, a state of India, the type locality of the species. Comparisons. Stolephorus tamilensis differs from congeners except S. dubiosus, S. baganensis, S. bengalensis, S. carpenteriae, S. tri, S. ronquilloi, S. holodon, and S. andhraensis by the hind boarder of the pre-operculm concave (vs. rounded in S. indicus, S. commersonnii, S. waitei, S. chinensis, S. multibranchus, S. brachycephalus, S. advenus, S. nelsoni, S. apiensis, S. pacificus, S. continentalis, S. insignus and S. oceanicus). The new species also distinguishes from S. dubiosus, S. tri and S. baganensis by the absence of pre-dorsal spine (vs. presence). Furthermore, S. tamilensis can be distinguished from S. andhraensis by the absence of scattered pigments between dorsal-fin and caudal peduncle (vs. presence). In addition, Stolephorus tamilensis is also distinct from S. andhraensis, S. ronquilloi, S. tri, S. multibranchus, S. brachycephalus, S. apiensis, S. pacificus, S. insignus, S. continentalis, S. teguhi, S. baganensis, S. waitei, S. chinensis, S. bataviensis, S. baweanensis, S. bengalensis and S. oceanicus by 25–28 gill rakers on the lower limb of the first gill arch (vs. 20–21 in S. andhraensis, 28–30 in S. ronquilloi, 18–22 in S. tri, 32–35 in S. multibranchus, 20–22 in S. brachycephalus, 30–31 in S. apiensis, 35–38 in S. pacificus, 26–28 in S. insignus & S. continentalis, 41–46 in S. teguhi, 20–23 in S. baganensis, 23–25 in S. waitei, 20–25 in S. chinensis, 19–22 in S. bataviensis & S. baweanensis, 22–27 in S. bengalensis and 24–28 in S. oceanicus). The new species also differs from S. commersonnii, S. multibranchus, S. brachycephalus, S. advenus, S. pacificus, S. teguhi, S. chinensis, S. insignus, S. bataviensis and S. bengalensis by 5–6 needle like pre-pelvic scutes (vs. 1–4 in S. commersonnii, 2–4 in S. multibranchus, 4–5 in S. brachycephalus, 7 in S. advenus, 1–4 in S. pacificus, 2–5 in S. teguhi, 4–7 in S. chinensis, S. insignus & S. bataviensis, and 5–8 in S. bengalensis). Stolephorus tamilensis is distinguishable from S. multibranchus, S. brachycephalus, S. carpentariae, S. advenus, S. teguhi, S. chinensis, S. bengalensis and S. insignus by 17–19 anal fin rays (vs. 18–20 in S. multibranchus, 19–22 in S. brachycephalus, 19–20 in S. carpenteriae, 16 in S. advenus, 19–21 in S. teguhi, 18–20 in S. chinensis, 16–19 in S. bengalensis and 18–19 in S. insignus). Furthermore, S. tamilensis differs from S. commersonnii, S. indicus, S. waitei (S. baweanensis sensu Hata et al. 2019), S. insularis (S. bengalensis sensu Hata et al. 2019), S. baganensis, S. dubiosus in eye diameter, dorsal fin base length, pelvic fin length, length between dorsal and anal-fin origins and maximum body depth (Table 3). ...Continued next page * S. waitei (Stolephorus baweanensis sensu Hata et al. 2019), * S. insularis (S. bengalensis sensu Hata et al. 2019) Note: standard length or SL, snout length SNL (1), head length HL (2), postorbital head length POHL (3), interorbital width IOW (4), eye diameter ED (5), upper jaw length UJL (6), lower jaw length LJL (7), dorsal-fin base length DFBL (8), anal-fin base length AFBL (9), pelvic-fin base length PFBL (10), pelvic-fin length PLFL (11), pectoral-fin base length PTBL (12), pectoral fin long filament length PTFL (13), length from tip of snout to origin of dorsal fin TSDF (14), length from tip of snout to origin of anal fin TSAF (15), length from tip of snout to origin of pelvic fin TSPF (16), length from tip of snout to origin of pectoral fin TSPTF (17), length from origin of dorsal fin to origin of anal fin AFDL (18), maximum body depth MBD (19), length from base of pectoral fin to origin of pelvic fin BPTFPL (20), length from base of pectoral fin to origin of anal fin BPTFAL (21), length from base of pelvic fin to origin of anal fin BPLFAF (22) Statistical analysis of morphometric variables. Higher F-ratio of more than 200 for ED/HL, DFBL/SL, PLFL/SL, AFDL/SL and MBD/SL reveal their better discrimination power than the other characters (Table 3). Herein, a higher F-value of 3309.651 and 2471.632 for ED/HL and MBD/SL, respectively, showed the importance of insertion point in species differentiation. However, comparative analysis showed overlapping meristic characters between S. insularis (S. bengalensis sensu Hata et al. 2019) and S. tamilensis (Table 4).Published as part of Pavan-Kumar, Annam, Jahageerdar, Shrinivas & Jaiswar, A. K., 2020, A new species of Stolephorus (Clupeiformes: Engraulidae) from the Bay of Bengal India, pp. 561-574 in Zootaxa 4743 (4) on pages 563-568, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4743.4.6, http://zenodo.org/record/369063

A new species of Stolephorus (Clupeiformes: Engraulidae) from the Bay of Bengal India

Pavan-Kumar, Annam, Jahageerdar, Shrinivas, Jaiswar, A. K. (2020): A new species of Stolephorus (Clupeiformes: Engraulidae) from the Bay of Bengal India. Zootaxa 4743 (4): 561-574, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4743.4.

Acute toxicity of copper sulphate on <em>Catla catla</em> larvae and its effect on expression of three commonly used housekeeping genes

12-16Pisces are commonly used to study the effects of metals, including copper on the environment. However, until now only scant information is available about the responses induced by waterborne copper during early life stages and housekeeping gene expression in fishes. In the present study, we evaluated acute toxicity of copper sulphate on larvae of Catla catla and also the stability of expression of three housekeeping genes, beta-actin (β-actin), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and elongation factor 1 alpha (EF1α). The results have shown increased mortality of Catla catla larvae with the increased concentration of copper sulphate. The median lethal concentration (LC50) of copper sulphate at the end of 96 h exposure was 1.032 ppm. During the challenge test of copper sulphate, the minimal coefficient of variation (CV) and stability index were observed for GAPDH and maximum for β-actin indicating minimum variation of GAPDH and maximum variation of β-actin. With the results, it can be concluded that GAPDH is most stable during copper sulphate challenge test on Catla catla larvae, followed by EF1α and β-actin