Ulua mentalis (Cuvier, 1833)

Ray, Dipanjan, Mishra, Subhrendu S., Mohapatra, Anil & Ghorai, Narayan, 2021, Notes on Carangids (Carangiformes: Carangidae) from West Bengal Coast with new records, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 121 (4), pp. 511-520 : 515

Ulua mentalis (Cuvier, 1833) : Longrakered trevelly ( Figure 5 )

1833. Carasx mentalis Cuvier (ex Eherenberg), in Cuvier and Valenciennes, Hist. nat. Poiss., 9: 124 (type-locality: Massawa, Eritrea, Red Sea).

Diagnosis: D VIII, I + 21; A II, I + 18; P 20; GR 24+56; LL scutes 32. Body depth is 3.8 in SL; HL 3.5 in SL; eye diameter 3.3 in HL. Lower jaw longer than upper jaw; maxilla reaches below the middle of eye; adipose eyelid feebly developed, forming a rim and covering outer margin of eye. Jaws with row of small teeth; vomer and palatines with villiform teeth; teeth absent on tongue; gill rakers long, feather-like, projecting into mouth along side of tongue. Scales absent on breast from behind pelvic fin origin to pectoral fin base. Colour: Bluish green dorsally and silvery white ventrally; lower jaw whitish; corner of mouth with a dusky patch. First dorsal fin semi transparent, other fins whitish.

Distribution: Indo-West Pacific: East Africa, Madagascar, Red Sea, eastward to Taiwan, Philippines and Australia ( Froese & Pauly, 2020). From Indian coast this species was reported from Andaman Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala ( Joshi et al., 2011). It is also listed from Lakshadweep Islands by Rao (1991) as Ulua mandibularis (Macleay) .

Remarks: The present record forms the first report of U. mentalis from West Bengal coast. This species can be distinguished from other carangids occurring in this region by distinctive long feather-like gill rakers that project into mouth along side of tongue, which is more than 70 in number (vs less than 62 in other Ulua species known) ( Smith-Vaniz, 1999).

Figures

Figure 5. Ulua mentalis (Cuvier, 1833).