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First record of the Indo-Pacific shorttail conger Coloconger scholesi Chan 1967 (Anguilliformes: Colocongridae) from the Arabian Sea slope of western India

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 May 2025

Smrutirekha Acharya
Affiliation:
Estuarine Biology Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Gopalpur-on-Sea, Odisha, India
Sweta Beura
Affiliation:
Marine Biology Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Praveen Rozario
Affiliation:
Marine Biology Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
K. K. Bineesh
Affiliation:
Marine Biology Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Anil Mohapatra*
Affiliation:
Estuarine Biology Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Gopalpur-on-Sea, Odisha, India
*
Corresponding author: Anil Mohapatra; Email: anil2k7@gmail.com

Abstract

Eels of the congrid genus Coloconger are rare and poorly known for their distributions. This study reports on the collection of the Indo-west Pacific short tail conger Coloconger scholesi Chan 1967 from Indian waters of the Arabian sea for the first time based on a single specimen collected from the deep waters off Kollam, Kerala and provides an additional report about Anguilliformes of India. Previously a single species of the genus Coloconger raniceps Alcock 1889 has been reported from Indian waters up to now. This study adds details about another Coloconger species, C. scholesi, a photograph of the specimen in fresh condition is provided, and comparison with its co-occurring in Indian waters congener C. raniceps is included.

Information

Type
Marine Record
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

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