Gazza minuta Bloch, 1797

Abraham, K. J., Joshi, K. K. & Murty, V. S. R., 2011, Taxonomy of the fishes of the family Leiognathidae (Pisces, Teleostei) from the West coast of India, Zootaxa 2886 (1), pp. 1-18 : 16

15. Gazza minuta Bloch, 1797

(Plate II, Fig. 7; Tables 1–3)

Scomber minutus Bloch, 1797 , S ystema Ichthylogiae, p. 110, tab. 429, fig. 2.

Material examined. 30 specimens of 83–123 mm

Description. D.VIII, 15–16; P. ii, 13–14, i–ii; V. I, 5; A. III, 13–14; C. 15; 57–59.

As percent of standard length: Total length 129.89–134.72 (131.59); fork length 113.24–117.81 (115.20); predorsal 38.71–42.86 (40.32); preanal 49.25–54.95 (51.63); dorsal base 51.28–54.84 (53.22); anal base 39.08–44.44 (41.86); head 30.30–34.07 (31.87); dorsal height 15.15–20.83 (17.81); anal height 13.64–16.44 (15.05); pectoral 15.79–19.48 (17.55); depth 38.71–45.05 (42.00).

As percent of head length: Snout 23.81–29.17 (26.36); eye 33.33–40 (36.52); head height 84–100 (91.68).

Body oval, compressed and moderately deep. Dorsal and ventral profiles equally convex. Snout pointed. Mouth large, lips thick and broad. Mouth when protracted forms a horizontal tube. Gape of mouth oblique and near the middle of eye. Mandible at an angle of about 45 o with the horizontal. A single series of small sharp teeth on the upper jaw, with a big and curved canine tooth on each side of the symphysis. In the lower jaw a series of curved pointed teeth are present, becoming larger anteriorly, with a pair of symphysial canines, with a notch between them to receive the upper canines. Pre-operculum with an obtuse angle, its lower margin finely serrated. Two small spines on top of the head immediately above the eye and opposite its front margin. Lateral line convex from the origin and is parallel to the dorsal profile extending posteriorly, but getting obsolete near to the end of the soft dorsal fin. Ventrals with axillary scales. Tip of the ventrals not reaching the origin of anals. Caudal deeply forked. Ventrolateral lobes of light organs hypertrophied.

Color. Silvery, back grayish, upper half of the body with grayish, irregular marks, or vertical wavy lines or faint irregular blotches, extending to below lateral line. Membrane of spinous dorsal, black at the edge. Snout margin dotted black. Inner side of pectoral base with black dots. About seven grey irregular blotches along the lateral line. Front part of anal fin yellowish. Edge of the gill opening on the lower side, covered by the opercular flap also dotted black. A black narrow line along the base of the dorsal fin. Posterior edges of the caudal fin dusky. Black minute dots all over the ventral half of the body.

Distribution. Though it does not form a fishery by itself or dominate the catch at any particular locality, it contributes substantially to the silverbelly catch along both coasts of the country. It is distributed off Cochin, Cape Comorin, Quilon, Tuticorin, Pamban, Mandapam, Madras, Porto Novo, Visakhapatnam and Kakinada and especially abundant at Tuticorin, Pamban and Mandapam.