Ophichthus kailashchandrai Mohapatra & Ray & Mohanty & Mishra 2020, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Mohapatra, Anil
name: Ray, Dipanjan
name: Mohanty, Swarup Ranjan
name: Mishra, Subhrendu Sekhar
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Actinopterygii
Anguilliformes
Ophichthidae
Ophichthus
Ophichthus kailashchandrai

description: Ophichthus kailashchandrai sp. nov.
Proposed common name: Kailash Chandra’s snake eel
(Figures 1–3, Table1)
Holotype. ZSI F 13135/2 (420 mm TL), date of collection: 12 December 2015, Collection site: Shankarpur fishing harbor, West Bengal, India.
Paratypes. EBRC / ZSI/F10790 (462 mm TL), EBRC /ZSI/F10791 (421 mm TL), Collection details same as holotype.
Diagnosis. A medium-sized species of Ophichthus with preanal length 2.6–2.8 in TL, dorsal fin origin above posterior third of pectoral fin, pectoral fin well developed, posterior nostril a hole in the upper lip opening towards the mouth, covered by a flap. A single barbel between anterior and posterior nostrils. Teeth moderately elongated, conical and sharp. Vomerine teeth start with single tooth, followed by two rows of biserial teeth and uniserial thereafter. Maxillary and mandibular teeth uniserial throughout. Four intermaxillary teeth in two rows. Predorsal vertebrae 14–15, preanal vertebrae 54–55, and total vertebrae 180–182.
Description. A moderately elongated eel with DFO above posterior third of pectoral fin. Dorsal fin and anal fin medium. Tail tip finless; dorsal and anal fins end shortly before tail tip. Snout pointed but not sharply, upper jaw slightly longer than lower jaw; lower jaw reaches to below anterior nostril. Anterior nostril small and tubular, nearly reaching the tip of the snout. Posterior nostril a hole in upper lip, opening towards the mouth and covered by a flap. Upper lip with a broad barbel between the anterior and posterior nostrils. Eye moderate, closer to rictus than snout; eye diameter 2.4–2.6 in upper jaw. The details of proportionate measurements are given in Table 1.
The details of head pores are shown in Fig. 2. Head pores small frontal pore 1, supraorbital pores 1 + 4; infraorbital pores 4 + 2; preopercular pores 3; mandibular pores 5; 11 lateral-line pores before gill opening & pectoral fin origin; 15–16 pores before dorsal fin and 54–56 lateral line pores before anus.
Teeth sharp and conical. Four teeth in the pre-maxilla arranged in almost two rows. Vomerine teeth started with single teeth followed by two rows of biserial teeth and uniserial thereafter. Maxillary teeth uniserial throughout, about 12–14 teeth in each side. Lower jaw teeth in single row throughout with 20–22 teeth each side. The anteriormost part of lower jaw toothless. The details of the arrangements of the teeth in the holotype are shown in Fig. 3.
Predorsal vertebrae 14–15, preanal vertebrae 54–55, and total vertebrae 180–182.
Colour of the preserved specimens light brown throughout the body, much lighter ventrally. Dorsal fin, anal and pectoral fins white. Eye rim white. Head pores within white rims.
Distribution. Known only from the Bay of Bengal (West Bengal), India.
Etymology. The species is named after Dr. Kailash Chandra, Director, Zoological Survey of India, in honour of his vast contributions to the Indian animal taxonomy.
description: Published as part of Mohapatra, Anil, Ray, Dipanjan, Mohanty, Swarup Ranjan & Mishra, Subhrendu Sekhar, 2020, Ophichthus kailashchandrai sp. nov. (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae): a new species of snake eel from Indian waters, Bay of Bengal, pp. 283-288 in Zootaxa 4728 (2) on pages 284-285, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4728.2.9, http://zenodo.org/record/3621243