No CrossRef data available.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 July 2025
From December 2023 to November 2024, regular surveys were conducted to document finfish bycatch in the trawl fishery landing at Veraval Fishing Harbour, northeastern coast of the Arabian Sea. As an outcome of this exploration, three male specimens of Callionymus gardineri and five (four males and one female) specimens of C. omanensis were collected. Both species were recorded for the first time from the north-western Arabian Sea, coastal waters of India, accompanied by a new maximum length record for C. omanensis (Lmax = 122.1 mm standard length). Callionymus omanensis was originally described based on a single male specimen, whereas the description of female C. omanensis was interpreted. While the exact justification for their distribution in this new locality remains unknown, both dragonet species likely moved eastwards from their native habitats along the western Arabian Sea coast. This strongly suggests a significant research gap in our understanding of low-value deep-sea trawl bycatch, necessitating further exploration to improve biodiversity assessments. Herein, the detailed meristic counts and morphometric measurements are compared, and updated distributional information is collated.