CHENNAI: Scientists from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research's National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBFGR) have found two new species of marine fishes in Tamil Nadu. One is a type of eel, from the Colachel fish landing centre in Kanniyakumari district, and the other is a sardine fish from Pattinapakkam fish landing centre in Chennai.
Interestingly, locals have been eating the sardine, and are unaware of its uniqueness, the scientists said.
The newly-discovered eel belongs to the 'congrid eels' group and has been named Ariosoma albimaculata (white spotted stout conger), said the scientists. The species name albimaculata is derived from Latin words 'albus' (meaning white) and 'maculatus' (meaning spotted) denoting a white spot on the dorsal fin.
The scientists spotted the species during an exploratory visit to Kanniyakumari in February. It was caught at a depth of about 200 m in the Arabian Sea. The species lives in unusual habitats like continental slopes and underwater seamount crevices.
"It is 240-487 mm long and distinct for its white spot on dorsal-fin origin, grey and shiny body colour. We collected a sample of the eel species as it looked quite different, and after a thorough taxonomical and genetic analysis, it was confirmed as a new species," said TT Ajith Kumar, principal scientist at the NBFGR.
The findings were published in the international journal Ichthyological Research in June. The article - titled Description of a new congrid eel, Ariosoma albimaculata from the southwest coast of India, Arabian Sea - has been authored by Paramasivam Kodeeswaran, Deepa Dhas, Thipramalai Thangappan Pillai Ajith Kumar, and Kuldeep Kumar Lal.
The scientists are now studying the nutritional value of the species, which is the eighth species of congrid eels documented in Indian waters so far. "Most eel groups don't possess economic value and are landed as bycatch. Sampling of these groups has been rare in Indian waters. If we manage to find that the new species contains protein, we can recommend it for consumption," said Ajith.
The findings about the new sardine fish species were published in the international journal Fish Biology last December. The species was caught from Pattinapakkam last November, and after morphological and genetic analysis, it was confirmed to be a new species. It has been named Dussumieria modakandai. The term modakandai is derived from two Tamil words - moda (soft) and kandai (a type of fish).
The NBFGR has been working on intellectual property protection and sustainable utilisation of India's fish genetic resources.