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The scientists of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have discovered a new species of a vibrant orange coloured deep water marine fish from Digha Mohana in West Bengal.
The new species, commonly known as gurnards or sea-robins, belongs to the family Triglidae. Named Pterygotrigla intermedica, it has characters quite similar to species like Pterygotrigla hemisticta, said Anil Mohapatra, a senior scientists and in-charge of ZSI’s Estuarine Biology Regional Center, Gopalpur in Odisha, who led the discovery of the new species.
It is the fourth species of Pterygotrigla genus reported in India so far, he said, and there are a total 178 species of the Triglidae family worldwide.
The species was caught by a local fisher on October 20, 2018, along with other fishes. The researchers collected a total of 24 specimens from the Digha Mohana fishing harbour during their study of by-catch components along the northern part of the east coast of India.
After thorough examinations, the specimens of this fish were found to be very distinct from other gurnad species in various aspects such as snout length, shape of the internuchal space and size of the cleithral spine, Mohapatra observed.
The detailed characteristics of this new fish species were published in Thalassas, an international marine science journal on September 20, 2023.
He said they have preserved 23 at the ZSI’s Estuarine Biology Regional Center, Gopalpur and one specimen in the Marine Fish Section, Kolkata for further study.
The scientists found a distinct pectoral-fin with black membranes on the inner surface, white posterior margin and three small white spots basally in fin, each ray creamy white on the new species, the author said.
It had a combination of characters like a long opercular spine and a very short cleithral spine; lateral-line,gill rakers on upper limb and 12–13 on lower limb of first gill arch and a large black blotch between the 4th and 6th spines of the first dorsal fin, the scientists wrote.