Gnathophis anilmohapatrai, Kodeeswaran & Karmovskaya, 2025

Kodeeswaran, Paramasivam & Karmovskaya, Emma S., 2025, Three new species of the congrid eel genus Gnathophis (Anguilliformes: Congridae) from the Arabian Sea, Zootaxa 5725 (1), pp. 89-105 : 96-98

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5725.1.3
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:5FF216F3-F0D5-4A83-A275-A158286323B7
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/5768066B-AF29-FFC4-FF1F-3D7D6AA8F965
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Gnathophis anilmohapatrai
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Gnathophis anilmohapatrai sp. nov.

( Figures 3B View FIGURE 3 , 4B View FIGURE 4 , 5 View FIGURE 5 , 6 View FIGURE 6 , Table 1)

Holotype. IO /OV/ ANG/00055 About ANG , 255 mm TL, off Kollam , India, Arabian Sea ( 8° 40’ N; 75° 32’ E), 264 m depth, bottom trawl, P. Kodeeswaran, 16 January 2024. GoogleMaps

Paratypes. Eight specimens, 210–259 mm TL: IO /OV/ ANG/00058 About ANG , 234–259 mm TL , 4 specimens; ZSI/ EBRC / F18780 , 210– 241 mm TL , 4 specimens, collected together with the holotype.

Diagnosis. A moderate size species of the genus Gnathophis differs from its congeners in having the following combination of characters: lateral-line pores above pectoral fin not elevated, lateral-line pores before anus 36–40; total vertebrae 136 (133–138); vertebrae formula: 9–11/40–42/47–48/133–138; stomach pale.

Description. Measurements in percentage of TL and HL, and counts data are given in Table 1. Body moderately elongate, anterior portion cylindrical in cross section, following posterior more compressed; tip of tail somewhat attenuate; anus just anterior to mid-body length, length 2.5 (2.4–2.6) times in TL. Dorsal-fin origin at level of mid adpressed pectoral fin length, confluent with caudal and anal fins. Anal-fin origin immediately behind anus. Pectoral fin well-developed with narrow base and pointed distally. Gill opening much smaller than eye diameter, its upper portion reaching mid of pectoral-fin base. Interbranchial much broader than gill opening and eye.

Head large, in comparison with less slender body, deepest at gill opening; snout elongate and pointed, length 1.5 (1.1–1.5) times eye diameter, much projecting beyond lower jaw; lower jaw equal to or longer than snout; fleshy portion of snout tip projecting anteriorly beyond intermaxillary tooth patch; rictus just before posterior eye margin. Tubular anterior nostril at snout tip, directed ventro-laterally. Elliptical posterior nostril in front of mid-eye level, with slightly raised rim.

Lateral-line pores complete, evident before anus, anterior part of lateral-line canal convex dorsally and curves smoothly downwards over the base of the pectoral fin, and pores above pectoral fin not elevated.

Head pores small; SO pores 6, the first (ethmoidal) pore and the second on ventral tip of snout, the third on dorsal side of snout, the fourth slightly large just behind the third, the fifth above and anterior of eye, and the sixth pore above and posterior edge of eye. IO pores 8, the first 4 along upper lip, the fifth behind rictus; 3 behind eye. Mandibular pores 7, six before rictus, and one after rictus; PO pores 2. ST pores 3.

Teeth small, pointed to blunt and curved backwards. Intermaxillary in about 4 transverse rows with backward-curved teeth, connected to maxillary and vomerine teeth, anterior portion slightly exposed when mouth closed. Maxillary teeth in bands, anterior with 3–4 rows of pointed teeth, middle portion with 2 rows, inner teeth blunt and outer teeth pointed, posterior portion narrower with single row. Vomerine teeth blunt and form long elongated patch, in about 3 rows anteriorly, following 5 uniserial blunt teeth posteriorly. Mandibular teeth in bands, anterior portion with 3–4 rows, and narrow posterior portion.

Swimbladder shorter than stomach and stomach does not reach anus.

Colouration. Live colouration. Body olive greenish to pale, dorsally pale brown and ventrally whitish, pale line runs along lateral line, belly milky white. Ventral part of body without melanophore pigmentation. Dorsal and anal fins dark with pale white distally. Caudal fin dark and tail tip white. Pectoral fin translucent with dark base. Head colour about the same as body, silvery behind eye. Snout tip whitish, then a little darker. Supratemporal canal, anterior interorbital portion dark. Stomach pale, peritoneum silvery. Gill-opening white. Eyes bright with dark pupil surrounded by golden iris. Colouration after preservation. Body becomes paler or beige than fresh. Pectoral fin beige.

Size. The largest specimen examined is 259 mm TL.

Distribution. Indian Ocean: off Kerala, Arabian Sea. Known only from type specimens collected at the depths of 264 m.

Etymology. The species name anilmohapatrai is given in honor of the Indian ichthyologist Anil Mohapatra for his enormous contribution to anguilliform systematics in the Indian waters.

Remarks. Gnathophis anilmohapatrai differs from the Indian water congener, G. ajithi in having more total vertebrae and preanal pores (133–138 vs. 122–126 and 36–40 vs. 29–33), lateral-line pores above pectoral fin not elevated (vs. elevated), vomerine tooth patch short (vs. long), ventral body side without melanophore pigmentation (vs. with pigmentation). It differs from species such as G. andriashevi , G. bathytopos , G. castlei , G. cinctus , G. codoniphorus , G. grahami , G. heterognathos , G. heterolinea , G. johnsoni , G. macroporis , G. melanocoelus , G. microps , G. mystax , G. nasutus , and G. smithi by lateral-line pores above pectoral-fin not elevated (vs. lateral-line pores above pectoral-fin elevated in above mentioned species).

Gnathophis anilmohapatrai has a larger number of vertebrae i.e. 133–138, than species such as 125–130 in G. bracheotopos , 120–127 in G. habenatus , 118–123 in G. longicauda and fewer vertebrae than species such as 156 in G. leptosomatus , 142–145 in G. neocaledoniensis , 146–147 in G. parini and 151–157 in G. xenica . Further it differs from the species such as G. ginanago and G. umbrellabius in having fewer PO pores (2 vs. 3 in species mentioned above) and differs from G. asanoi and G. tritos in having more precaudal vertebrae (47–48 vs. 41–42 in G. asanoi , 42 in G. tritos ). The new species differs from G. capensis in having longer pectoral fins (21.1–28.3 vs. 15–16 times in TL), and in stomach colour (pale vs. black) ( Smith & Heemstra 2022).