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First record of Xenocephalus australiensis (Actinopterygii: Uranoscopidae) from the Arabian Sea, Western Indian Ocean with taxonomic note

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 May 2025

Teena Jayakumar T. K. Open the ORCID record for Teena Jayakumar T. K. [Opens in a new window] ,
T. T. Ajith Kumar  and
Uttam Kumar Sarkar
Teena Jayakumar T. K.*
Affiliation:
Centre for Peninsular Aquatic Genetic Resources, ICAR – National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
T. T. Ajith Kumar
Affiliation:
Centre for Peninsular Aquatic Genetic Resources, ICAR – National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
Uttam Kumar Sarkar
Affiliation:
ICAR – National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
*
Corresponding author: Teena Jayakumar T. K.; Email: teenajayakumar@gmail.com
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Abstract

A single specimen of the Australian stargazer, Xenocephalus australiensis, was recently collected from the southwest coast of India, Arabian Sea. Since its original description, from northwest Australia, there have been no detailed reports on the species occurrence. The present study documents the first geographical record of X. australiensis in the Arabian Sea, Western Indian Ocean. Morphological characters are enumerated and compared with the voucher specimens from the original description. A detailed description of the specimen is provided, contributing valuable insights into the characteristics of X. australiensis in the Indian waters along with major distinguishing characters of the species in the genus Xenocephalus. This study extends the known geographic range of the species from northwest Australia, Eastern Indian Ocean, to the Arabian Sea, Western Indian Ocean.

Keywords

Arabian Seadistributionnew recordstargazerXenocephalus

Information

Type
Marine Record
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 105 , 2025 , e52
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

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