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Issue: Vol. 5653 No. 4: 30 Jun. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-06-30
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5653.4.7
Page range: 563-571
Abstract views: 221
PDF downloaded: 7

Facciolella smithi, a new species of deep-water nettastomatid eel (Anguilliformes: Nettastomatidae) from the Arabian Sea

ICAR-National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources; Lucknow; Uttar Pradesh – 226 002; India
ICAR-National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources; Lucknow; Uttar Pradesh – 226 002; India
Pisces Taxonomy molecular analyses new species western Indian Ocean

Abstract

A new nettastomatid eel species is described based on eight specimens collected from the deep-water (260–450 meters depth) of the eastern Arabian Sea. The new species is characterized by having large head, dorsal-fin origin before gill openings, body and head bicolour, and total vertebrae 156+–205+. It differs from its congeners in position of dorsal-fin origin (before gill openings vs. behind gill openings in F. castlei, F. equatorialis, F. oxyrhynchus) and from F. karrerae and F. saurencheloides in having larger head (43.6–47.5% PAL vs. 36.2–37.3% PAL in F. karrerae and 28.5–32.0% PAL in F. saurencheloides). Comparison with CO1 mtDNA sequences in GenBank and BOLD, confirms that the new species forms a separate genetic lineage.

 

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How to Cite

Kodeeswaran, P. & Kumar, T.T.A. (2025) Facciolella smithi, a new species of deep-water nettastomatid eel (Anguilliformes: Nettastomatidae) from the Arabian Sea. Zootaxa, 5653 (4), 563–571. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5653.4.7