Species in News: Ariosoma Indicum

In News 

• Recently, Scientists discovered new eel species named Ariosoma indicum from Kerala and  West Bengal respectively.
  • Their study was published in the Journal of Fish Biology March 30, 2022.

About Ariosoma indicum

• Scientists confirmed Ariosoma indicum as a new species after two years of through research, taxonomic studies and molecular analysis.
• The newly discovered eel belongs to the Congrid eels group and has been named Ariosoma indicum. 
  • 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 term Indicum means that it was found in India

• The total length of the new species is 362 millimetres. 
• Features: 
  • 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
• Distribution :
  • It is possibly distributed along the Indian coast, including the coastal waters of Kerala and West Bengal. 

• Economic value: 
  • Most eel groups possess less economic value and sampling of these groups has been rare in Indian waters.
• Protection status : 
  • 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.
  • Further study of the new species is needed to find out its nutritional status

Source:DTE