A problematic taxonomy of Bathophilus (Stomiidae) collected from the Arabian Sea

Autor: Rajeev Rajakrishnan, Meleppura Rajeeshkumar, Narayanane Saravanane
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. 103
ISSN: 1469-7769
0025-3154
DOI: 10.1017/s0025315423000073
Popis: The number of rays in pectoral and pelvic fins are the major diagnostic character for species discrimination in the genus Bathophilus. However, all of the five species of Bathophilus we studied showed considerable differences from the existing counts in the number of rays in pectoral and pelvic fins, which has made species identification and interrelations doubtful. We believe taxonomy focusing on the number of rays in the pelvic and pectoral fin alone does not fully discriminate species. At present, the importance of other characters has to be validated for correct species identification. We also report the first record of Bathophilus proximus from the Indian Ocean and additional new records of Bathophilus cwyanorum, Bathophilus altipinnis and Bathophilus digitatus from the Arabian Sea.
Databáze: OpenAIRE