Taxonomic clarification and re-description of two deep-sea roughies of genus Hoplostethus from the Indian Ocean

Jacob Vinu*, M. P. Rajeeshkumar, K. S. Sumod, K. M. Meera, M. Hashim, V. N. Sanjeevan, M. Sudhakar

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Two deep-sea roughies, Hoplostethus (Leiogaster) rubellopterus Kotlyar, 1980 and H. (L.) melanopus (Weber, 1913), are re-described based on several specimens collected from the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. Some notes on the taxonomic status of these two species are also included, and their distributional ranges are updated. Hoplostethus (L.) rubellopterus is a commonly occurring species in the deep-sea catches from the upper continental slope (160–800 m) of this region, which is often misidentified and reported as H. mediterraneus Cuvier, 1829. Previous reports of H. mediterraneus from Indian waters were found to be misidentifications, and should be referred to H. (L.) rubellopterus. Hoplostethus (L.) melanopus is found to be distributed in much deeper waters at bathyal depths (>900 m) of the Arabian Sea and Andaman Sea.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)491-497
Number of pages7
JournalMarine Biodiversity
Volume47
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jun 2017
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Keywords

  • Deep-sea roughies
  • Hoplostethus (Leiogaster) melanopus
  • Hoplostethus (Leiogaster) rubellopterus
  • Indian Ocean
  • Re-description
  • Trachichthyidae

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oceanography
  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Aquatic Science

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