Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have made a remarkable discovery – a new species of vibrant orange-colored deep-water marine fish found off the coast of Digha Mohana in West Bengal.
The newly identified species, which belongs to the family Triglidae and is commonly known as gurnards or sea-robins, has been named Pterygotrigla Intermedica. It exhibits characteristics closely resembling another species, Pterygotrigla Hemisticta, according to Anil Mohapatra, a senior scientist and the leader of the discovery team from ZSI’s Estuarine Biology Regional Center in Gopalpur, Odisha.
This new discovery marks the fourth species of the Pterygotrigla genus reported in India to date, with a total of 178 species in the Triglidae family worldwide.
The fish specimen was caught by a local fisherman on October 20, 2018, alongside other marine life. The research team collected a total of 24 specimens from the Digha Mohana fishing harbor during their study of by-catch components along the northern part of India’s east coast.
Upon rigorous examination, the distinctive characteristics of this fish species became evident, setting it apart from other gurnard species. Notable distinctions included snout length, the shape of the internuchal space, and the size of the cleithral spine, as pointed out by Mohapatra.
Details about this new fish species have been published in the marine science journal Thalassas on September 20, 2023.
Of the 24 collected specimens, 23 have been preserved at ZSI’s Estuarine Biology Regional Center in Gopalpur, while one specimen is housed in the Marine Fish Section in Kolkata, where further studies will be conducted.
Among the key characteristics of the new species noted by scientists are a distinct pectoral-fin with black membranes on the inner surface, a white posterior margin, and three small white spots at its base. Each ray of the fin is creamy white.
The species also features a unique combination of traits, such as a long opercular spine and a very short cleithral spine, a lateral line, gill rakers on the upper limb and 12–13 on the lower limb of the first gill arch, as well as a prominent black blotch located between the 4th and 6th spines of the first dorsal fin, as outlined in the research findings.
