Scientists discover new eel species from Kerala, Bengal

Category
Ecology and Environment
Published
4th May, 2022

Context

A group of Indian scientists have discovered a new species of eel from among specimens collected from the Kalamukku and Digha Mohana fishing harbours in Kerala and West Bengal respectively.

About

About New Eel Species – Ariosoma Indicum:

The newly discovered eel belongs to the Congrid eels group.
It has been named Ariosoma indicum.
The term Indicum means that it was found in India.
The total length of the new species is 362 millimetres.
The eel has the following features according to the recent paper:
A greenish-brown body, with faint dark bands on the dorsal portion of the head
Minute dark pigmentation patches on the extremities of the lower jaw
Bicoloured pectoral fin
A short wedge-shaped pointed vomerine teeth patch, with three or four rows in the anterior portion
Ariosoma indicum is possibly distributed along the Indian coast, including the coastal waters of Kerala and West Bengal.
The Ariosoma genus has seven species, including the newly identified eel that have been documented in Indian waters.
Globally, there are 223 species in the genus.
The new eel species is not listed as ‘Threatened’ or ‘Endangered’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

About National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources:

ICAR-National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBFGR) was established in December 1983 in a rented premises at Allahabad under the aegis of Indian Council of Agricultural Research to undertake research related to the conservation of fish germplasm resources of the country.
The Bureau’s permanent infrastructure was developed at Lucknow, U.P in 1999.
Vision: The Institute's vision is assessment and conservation of fish genetic resources for intellectual property protection, sustainable utilization and posterity.
Mandate: The mandate of the Institute includes collection, classification and cataloguing of fish genetic resources of the country, maintenance and preservation of fish genetic material for conservation of endangered fish species and evaluation and valuation of indigenous and exotic fish species.