First record of Shorthead fang blenny, Petroscirtes breviceps (Valenciennes, 1836), from Chilika lagoon, India.

1692-1694Shorthead fang blenny, Petroscirtes breviceps (Valenciennes, 1836), a species of the family Blenniidae (Order Blenniiformes) is reported here as first record from Chilika Lagoon, Odisha, India based on 20 specimens collected from Chilika lagoon. This also forms the first record from coastal waters of Odisha

Note on occurrence of Lutke’s halfbeak Hemiramphus lutkei Valenciennes, 1847 (Beloniformes: Hemiramphidae), along Odisha Coast

The paper reports occurrence of Lutke’s halfbeak Hemiramphus lutkei Valenciennes, 1847, for the first time from the coastal waters of Odisha coast, India. This report confirms the occurrence of this species form an extended geographical range along the east coast of India and will be helpful in further study of its biology, zoogeography and taxonomic status of the family Hemiramphidae

A new short brown unpatterned moray eel Gymnothorax andamanensis (Muraenidae: Muraeninae) from Andaman waters, India

Mohapatra, Anil, Kiruba-Sankar, R., Praveenraj, J., Mohanty, Swarup Ranjan (2019): A new short brown unpatterned moray eel Gymnothorax andamanensis (Muraenidae: Muraeninae) from Andaman waters, India. Zootaxa 4661 (1): 189-196, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4661.1.1

Gymnothorax andamanensis Mohapatra & Kiruba-Sankar & Praveenraj & Mohanty 2019, sp. nov.

<i>Gymnothorax andamanensis</i> sp. nov. <p>Proposed common name: Andaman brown moray</p> <p>(Figures 1–4 A, Table 1)</p> <p> <b>Holotype.</b> EBRC /ZSI F11227 [325 mm total length (TL)], Port Mout, Port Blair, South Andaman (11.659327°N; 92.696148°E]: 18 March 2019.</p> <p> <b>Paratypes.</b> CIARI /MF-05. [464 mm TL), date and place of collection: same as holotype.</p> <p> <b>Diagnosis.</b> This new species of moray eel belongs to the small, brown unpatterned group with the combination following of characters: dorsal-fin origin before gill opening, pre-anal length 2.1–2.2, jaw pores with black rim, two branchial pores, predorsal vertebrae 3, preanal vertebrae 57 and total vertebrae 135–136, teeth smooth, three large fang-like median intermaxillary teeth, biserial maxillary and uniserial vomerine teeth, and dentary teeth biserial, with two teeth on each side in the second row of the dentary.</p> <p> <b>Description.</b> A medium-sized, uniform brown moray with moderately elongate body, depth at gill opening 15.0–17.1 and at anus 16.0– 19.1 in TL; preanal length 2.1–2.2 in TL. Head small, 8.1 in TL; snout blunt, its length 4.4 in HL; jaws almost equal 2.2–2.4 in HL. Eye diameter of 6.7–7.6 in HL and located closure to rictus than the snout tip; interorbital space 6.7–8.8 in HL (Table 1). Anterior nostril tubular touching the tip of the snout, posterior nostril above the anterior margin of eye. Dorsal-fin origin before gill opening and closer to rictus than to gill opening. Pre-dorsal length 9.9–10.8 in total length. The dorsal fin origin is well before the 1st branchial pore. Anal fin starts from the anus. Both dorsal and anal fins high. Gill in a small diagonal slit located behind the dorsal fin origin and second branchial pore (Fig. 2). Teeth smooth, not serrated; intermaxillary teeth 11–12 on each side with alternate small and large teeth as shown in Fig. 3; 3 strong, curved median intermaxillary teeth placed almost equidistance from each other; maxillary teeth biserial, 19–20 on each side of outer row and 3 in each side of inner row; vomerine teeth uniserial with 9–10 teeth; lower jaw teeth with outer row of 26–28 teeth on each side and 2 inner teeth on each side near anterior end (Fig. 3). Head pores typical, supraorbital pores 3; infraorbital pores 4; mandibular pores 6; branchial pores 2, located above and before gill opening (Fig. 2). All head pores with black rim. Predorsal vertebrae 3, preanal vertebrae 57 and total vertebrae 135–136.</p> <p> <i>Colour when fresh:</i> body dark brown dorsally and slightly pale brown ventrally; (Figs. 1 & 4), both dorsal and anal fins body colour; eye ring whitish, jaw pores with black rim. When preserved, body uniformly brown, eye ring white.</p> <p> <b>Distribution.</b> Presently known only from the South Andaman, India.</p> <p> <b>Etymology.</b> The species is named “ <i>andamanensis</i> ” with reference to the Island from where it is collected.</p>Published as part of <i>Mohapatra, Anil, Kiruba-Sankar, R., Praveenraj, J. & Mohanty, Swarup Ranjan, 2019, A new short brown unpatterned moray eel Gymnothorax andamanensis (Muraenidae: Muraeninae) from Andaman waters, India, pp. 189-196 in Zootaxa 4661 (1)</i> on pages 190-191, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4661.1.11, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/3378470">http://zenodo.org/record/3378470</a&gt

Ophichthus kailashchandrai Mohapatra & Ray & Mohanty & Mishra 2020, sp. nov.

<i>Ophichthus kailashchandrai</i> sp. nov. <p>Proposed common name: Kailash Chandra’s snake eel</p> <p>(Figures 1–3, Table1)</p> <p> <b>Holotype.</b> ZSI F 13135/2 (420 mm TL), date of collection: 12 December 2015, Collection site: Shankarpur fishing harbor, West Bengal, India.</p> <p> <b>Paratypes.</b> EBRC / ZSI/F10790 (462 mm TL), EBRC /ZSI/F10791 (421 mm TL), Collection details same as holotype.</p> <p> <b>Diagnosis.</b> A medium-sized species of <i>Ophichthus</i> with preanal length 2.6–2.8 in TL, dorsal fin origin above posterior third of pectoral fin, pectoral fin well developed, posterior nostril a hole in the upper lip opening towards the mouth, covered by a flap. A single barbel between anterior and posterior nostrils. Teeth moderately elongated, conical and sharp. Vomerine teeth start with single tooth, followed by two rows of biserial teeth and uniserial thereafter. Maxillary and mandibular teeth uniserial throughout. Four intermaxillary teeth in two rows. Predorsal vertebrae 14–15, preanal vertebrae 54–55, and total vertebrae 180–182.</p> <p> <b>Description.</b> A moderately elongated eel with DFO above posterior third of pectoral fin. Dorsal fin and anal fin medium. Tail tip finless; dorsal and anal fins end shortly before tail tip. Snout pointed but not sharply, upper jaw slightly longer than lower jaw; lower jaw reaches to below anterior nostril. Anterior nostril small and tubular, nearly reaching the tip of the snout. Posterior nostril a hole in upper lip, opening towards the mouth and covered by a flap. Upper lip with a broad barbel between the anterior and posterior nostrils. Eye moderate, closer to rictus than snout; eye diameter 2.4–2.6 in upper jaw. The details of proportionate measurements are given in Table 1.</p> <p>The details of head pores are shown in Fig. 2. Head pores small frontal pore 1, supraorbital pores 1 + 4; infraorbital pores 4 + 2; preopercular pores 3; mandibular pores 5; 11 lateral-line pores before gill opening & pectoral fin origin; 15–16 pores before dorsal fin and 54–56 lateral line pores before anus.</p> <p>Teeth sharp and conical. Four teeth in the pre-maxilla arranged in almost two rows. Vomerine teeth started with single teeth followed by two rows of biserial teeth and uniserial thereafter. Maxillary teeth uniserial throughout, about 12–14 teeth in each side. Lower jaw teeth in single row throughout with 20–22 teeth each side. The anteriormost part of lower jaw toothless. The details of the arrangements of the teeth in the holotype are shown in Fig. 3.</p> <p>Predorsal vertebrae 14–15, preanal vertebrae 54–55, and total vertebrae 180–182.</p> <p> <i>Colour</i> of the preserved specimens light brown throughout the body, much lighter ventrally. Dorsal fin, anal and pectoral fins white. Eye rim white. Head pores within white rims.</p> <p> <b>Distribution.</b> Known only from the Bay of Bengal (West Bengal), India.</p> <p> <b>Etymology.</b> The species is named after Dr. Kailash Chandra, Director, Zoological Survey of India, in honour of his vast contributions to the Indian animal taxonomy.</p>Published as part of <i>Mohapatra, Anil, Ray, Dipanjan, Mohanty, Swarup Ranjan & Mishra, Subhrendu Sekhar, 2020, Ophichthus kailashchandrai sp. nov. (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae): a new species of snake eel from Indian waters, Bay of Bengal, pp. 283-288 in Zootaxa 4728 (2)</i> on pages 284-285, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4728.2.9, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/3621243">http://zenodo.org/record/3621243</a&gt

Ophichthus kailashchandrai sp. nov. (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae): a new species of snake eel from Indian waters, Bay of Bengal

Mohapatra, Anil, Ray, Dipanjan, Mohanty, Swarup Ranjan, Mishra, Subhrendu Sekhar (2020): Ophichthus kailashchandrai sp. nov. (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae): a new species of snake eel from Indian waters, Bay of Bengal. Zootaxa 4728 (2): 283-288, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4728.2.

FIGURE 3 in A new congrid eel, Rhynchoconger randalli sp. nov. (Congridae: Anguilliformes) with a pentagonal pattern of vomer dentition from the Bay of Bengal, Indian waters

FIGURE 3. Microscopic picture of teeth on upper jaw of Rhynchoconger randalli sp. nov., from holotype.Published as part of <i>Acharya, Smrutirekha, Mohanty, Swarup Ranjan, Ray, Dipanjan, Mishra, Subhrendu Sekhar & Mohapatra, Anil, 2022, A new congrid eel, Rhynchoconger randalli sp. nov. (Congridae: Anguilliformes) with a pentagonal pattern of vomer dentition from the Bay of Bengal, Indian waters, pp. 188-194 in Zootaxa 5174 (2)</i> on page 191, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5174.2.5, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/6990256">http://zenodo.org/record/6990256</a&gt

FIGURE 1 in A new congrid eel, Rhynchoconger randalli sp. nov. (Congridae: Anguilliformes) with a pentagonal pattern of vomer dentition from the Bay of Bengal, Indian waters

FIGURE 1. Rhynchoconger randalli sp. nov., holotype, EBRC/ZSI/F13832.Published as part of <i>Acharya, Smrutirekha, Mohanty, Swarup Ranjan, Ray, Dipanjan, Mishra, Subhrendu Sekhar & Mohapatra, Anil, 2022, A new congrid eel, Rhynchoconger randalli sp. nov. (Congridae: Anguilliformes) with a pentagonal pattern of vomer dentition from the Bay of Bengal, Indian waters, pp. 188-194 in Zootaxa 5174 (2)</i> on page 191, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5174.2.5, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/6990256">http://zenodo.org/record/6990256</a&gt

A new white-spotted moray eel, Gymnothorax aurocephalus sp. nov. (Muraenidae Muraeninae) from Andaman Sea, India

Nashad, M., Mohapatra, Anil, Varghese, Sijo P., Ramalingam, L., Mohanty, Swarup Ranjan (2020): A new white-spotted moray eel, Gymnothorax aurocephalus sp. nov. (Muraenidae Muraeninae) from Andaman Sea, India. Zootaxa 4877 (2): 361-372, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4877.2.