ICAR discovers new fish species in Cuddalore, names it after TN

CHENNAI: The Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) scientists have discovered a Moray Eel fish of the Genus Gymnothorax from Cuddalore coast and had named it after Tamil Nadu as - "Gymnothorax Tamilnaduensis" with a common name as "Tamil Nadu brown moray eel".

Researchers and scientists from ICAR - National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR) conducted an exploration survey along coastal waters in Parangipettai and Mudasalodai fish landing centers, Cuddalore district by marine researchers P Kodeeswaran and G Kantharajan.

The team found a new fish species after extensive morphological analysis, skeleton radiography and advanced molecular markers they concluded that the found species is moray eel, distinct species of genus Gymnothorax.

With this, new found fish species of Gymnothorax the number has increased to 29, hitherto Indian waters had 28 species of Gymnothorax, a statement from the NBFGR said.

A paramount of this discovery is, this new species is first to be found in the south-eastern coast of India, Bay of Bengal. The holotype of this new species is registerred at the National Fish Museum and Repository of ICAR-NBFGR Lucknow.

The name of the fish species is registered in the Zoobank, the online registration system for the international commission on Zoolgical Nomenclature (ICZN).

Dr U Sarkar, director of NBFGR, told that the insitute will continue the explorations in the unexplored regions of the country to document the hidden biodiversity of the nation, which will helpful to enrich the biodioversity catalogue of the country and utilisation for the community, the statement said.

"We are conducting analysis for the utilisation of eels for human consumption in India, particularly in Tamil Nadu. The nutritional profiling of the newly discovered eel is underway," marine biolgist T T Ajith Kumar, principal scientist, regional centre of NBFGR, Kochi told DT Next.