KOLLAM: A skate landed as bycatch at the Sakthikulangara Fishing Harbour in Kollam has turned out to be a species new to science, highlighting the rich and poorly explored biodiversity of the deep waters off the Keralam coast.
Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) have described the species as Dipturus dhritiae, commonly called the Arabian Skate.
The findings were published in the Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation on August 28.
Significantly, the holotype — the reference specimen used to formally describe a new species — was collected at Sakthikulangara on April 26, 2022.
The study found that the specimens, which had remained unidentified or were earlier confused with other species, represented a distinct skate based on morphological and molecular evidence. One of its distinguishing features is five distinct rows of thorns along the tail. The species can grow up to 131.5cm, with the new species currently known from the continental slope off southwest India at depths of 400-600m.
Researchers said the species had likely been misidentified as Dipturus springeri for decades. Surveys between 2008 and 2026 found no confirmed specimens of D. springeri from Indian waters. The species has been named dhritiae in honour of Dhriti Banerjee, the first woman director of the ZSI.
The study was led by K K Bineesh and Anil Kasinath of ZSI, along with K V Akhilesh of CMFRI and David A Every from the USA.