BHUBANESWAR: A group of zoologists has discovered a new species of snake eel (Ophichthus johnmccoskeri) from the northern part of Bay of Bengal during a recent study. The eel of Ophichthidae family has been named after John E McCosker of California Academy of Sciences in honour of his vast contributions to the taxonomy of ophichthid eels. Officer-incharge of Gopalpur-based Estuarine Biology Regional Centre (EBRC) of Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) Anil Mohapatra said the species is distinguished from its congeners for having dorsalfin origin well behind the pectoral- fin tips, different tooth pattern and vertebral count.
Three specimens (246 to 365 mm in length) were collected with the help of a trawl net from Shankarpur fishing harbour in West Bengal within the Exclusive Economic Zone of India. The colour of the preserved specimens are light brown throughout the body and lighter ventrally. “We obtained three specimens belonging to the genus Ophichthus along the east coast.
The snake eel spotted there is a new species found in the Bay of Bengal,” Mohapatra said. While the holotype has been deposited at the Fish Division of ZSI, Kolkata, the paratypes are with the Estuarine Biology Regional Centre of ZSI, Gopalpuron- Sea. The new species has a single barbel (fleshy filament) between the anterior and posterior nostrils among other specifications. The genus Ophichthus contains highest numbers of species (more than 80) among all 47 currently recognised genera in the sub-family Ophichthinae.
The species of Ophichthus are distinguished by having one to three rows of conical, pointed, uniserial or bi-serial vomerine teeth besides short and stout jaws capable of closing completely. Along with Mohapatra, Swarup R Mohanty from EBRC, Dipanjan Ray from Bajkul Milani Mahavidyalaya, West Bengal and Subhrendu Sekhar Mishra from Marine Fish Section of ZSI, Kolkata took part in the study. Their study paper has been published in the recent edition of Zootaxa, a peer-reviewed scientific mega journal for animal taxonomists published in New Zealand.