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Abstract

The monospecific genus Allips is reported here for the first time from Indian waters, from a specimen collected from the sea grass bed outside the Nalban bird Sanctuary, Chilika lagoon, India, with its morphometric characters, vertebrae and teeth pattern.  The rare small eye snake eel A. concolor was earlier described by McCosker, 1972 on the basis of a single specimen. After that, there are very rare reports on this particular species especially on its morphometry after McCosker (1972). This paper extends the range of A. concolor McCosker, 1972 from eastern Andaman Sea and Northern Territory, Australia to Indian waters. A detailed discussion on the distribution and habitat is also provided in this paper.

Keywords

Ophichthidae Allips New record Chilika lagoon.

Article Details

Author Biographies

Anil MOHAPATRA, Estuarine Biology Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Gopalpur-on-Sea, Ganjam, Odisha, 761002, India.

Scientsit & officer-in-Charge, 

Estuarine Biology Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Gopalpur-on-Sea, Ganjam, Odisha, India-761002.

Swarup R. MOHANTY, Estuarine Biology Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Gopalpur-on-Sea, Ganjam, Odisha, 761002, India.

Junior Research Fellow

Subhrendu Sekhar MISHRA, Marine Fish Section, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, 700016, India.

Scientist-C

Dipanjan RAY, Bajkul Milani Mahavidyalaya, Kismat Bajkul, Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, 721655, India.

Assistant Professor, Department of Zoology
How to Cite
MOHAPATRA, A., MOHANTY, S. R., MISHRA, S. S., & RAY, D. (2019). First report of a rare snake eel, Allips concolor McCosker, 1972 (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae) from Indian waters. Iranian Journal of Ichthyology, 5(4), 312–316. https://doi.org/10.22034/iji.v5i4.286

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