Amblygaster indiana Mary, Balasubramanian, Selvaraju & Shiny, 2017, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Mary, Anthonipillai Arockia
name: Balasubramanian, Thngavelu
name: Selvaraju, Shanker
name: Shiny, Anthonipillai
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Actinopterygii
Clupeiformes
Clupeidae
Amblygaster
Amblygaster indiana

description: Amblygaster indiana, sp. nov.
(Figs. 1A, B; Table 1)
Holotype. ZSI/ MBRC /540, 21 cm SL, Eraviputhenthurai landing center, (11°15’49.26” N, 77°08’11.67” E), west coast, India, collected, A. Arockiamary; 0 2 February, 2010.
Paratypes. ZSI/ MBRC /541, (29 cm SL), Eraviputhenthurai landing centre, west coast, India, collected A. Arockiamary, 0 5 February, 2010; FMS/ CASMB /1087 (22 cm SL), Eraviputhenthurai landing centre, west coast, India, collected A. Arockiamary, 18 February, 2010;FMS/ CASMB /1088 (28 cm SL), Eraviputhenthurai landing centre, west coast, India, collected A. Arockiamary & S. Shanker, 18 February, 2010; JUDES /FSD/1529 (28.1 cm SL), Eraviputhenthurai fish market, west coast, India, collected A. Arockiamary & S. Shanker, 27 March, 2010; JUDES /FSD/1530 (29.2 cm SL), Eraviputhenthurai fish market, west coast, India, collected A. Arockiamary & S. Shanker, 18 February, 2010; SATYABHAMAU812 (27 cm SL), Eraviputhenthurai landing center, west coast, India, collected A. Arockiamary & A. Shyni, 18 February, 2010; SATYABHAMAU 813 (29.3 cm SL), Eraviputhenthurai landing center, west coast, India, collected A. Arockiamary & A. Shyni, 18 February, 2010; Parakkai-FTRC/ FSRS /1155 (29.3 cm SL), Eraviputhenthurai landing center, west coast, India, collected A. Arockiamary & S. Shanker, 12 February, 2011; FTRC / FSRS / 1181 (29 cm SL), Eraviputhenthurai fish market, west coast, India, collected A. Arockiamary, 12 February, 2011; RC/ RGCA /2056 (29.1 cm SL), Eraviputhenthurai fish market, west coast, India, collected A. Arockiamary, 12 February, 2011; RC/ RGCA /2263 (27 cm SL), Eraviputhenthurai fish market, west coast, India, collected A. Arockiamary, 15 May, 2011.
Diagnosis. A large species of Amblygaster with bluish body, green on dorsum, with silvery flanks. Posterior margin of opercle with two fleshy outgrowths (Fig. 5). Body deep and cylindrical, belly smooth and round, weakly keeled with eight circular-shaped pre-pelvic scutes; (Fig. 2). Branchiostegial rays 7 (Fig. 3); fronto-parietalstriae 7– 14 (Fig. 4); huge eyes (Fig. 6); upper jaw with median notch. Dorsal fin inserted at about midpoint of body; pelvic fins below dorsal fin base, fin rays 7; anal fin very short and inserted far posterior to dorsal fin base. Gill rakers 57– 63. Scales cycloid; posterior margin of scales striated with many vertical lines from anterior of scale extending to centre of scale.
Description. Dorsal fin rays 0, 17–19; anal fin rays 0, 17–19; pectoral fin rays 16; pelvic fin rays 7; upper gill rakers 13–14; lower gill rakers 44–49; fronto-parietal striae 7–14; branchiostegial rays 7; circular pre-pelvic scutes 8; lateral scales 40. Body elongated and cylindrical, belly rounded and weakly keeled; greatest depth 7.3–10.3 in SL; head length 5.9–8.3 in SL; eye 1.7–2.3 in SL; predorsal distance 11.0– 15.3 in SL; pre-pectoral distance 6.0– 8.6 in SL; pre-pelvic distance 12.0– 16.8 in SL; pre-anal distance 17.3–24.1 in SL (Table. 1).
Colour in life (Fig. 1 B): ground colour of body bluish green on dorsum with silvery flanks; dorsal fin with dark chromatophores on middle inter-radial membranes between branched rays, forming black blotches; caudal fin and mouth tips blackish, top of head greenish.
Distribution. The species has been collected in Eraviputhenthurai (fish market and landing centre) west coast of India.
TABLE]. Morphometric anđ meristic characters of holotype anđ paratypes of Amblygaster indiana sp nov.
Etymology. The species is named after India.
Comparisons. Amblygaster indiana can be distinguished from all other Amblygasters by its larger size and deep body. Another important difference between new species and other Amblygaster spp. is the difference in the gap at the junction between right and left frontoparietal striae on the top of the head. In new species a wide gap is present between the left and right frontoparietal striae, compared a narrow gap in other Amblygaster spp. In addition, the new species has eight circular shaped pre-pelvic scutes instead of prominent scutes in all other Amblygaster spp. (Fig. 2A). The new species also has eight circular pre-pelvic scutes compared to 13 or more in all other Amblygaster spp. Moreover, the new species has more gill rakers on the lower arch: 44–49 compared to 33– 43 in A. sirm, 31–35 in A. leiogaster and 26–31in A. clupeoides. The new species has larger eyes when compared to the other species.
Remarks. The new species has been fished with Amblygaster sirm in Eraviputhenthurai coastal zone and also along the zones of south west coast of India. This indicates that the new species exhibit schooling behavior. The proportions of fish catch of Amblygaster indiana and Amblygaster sirm is a ratio of 1 to 20. Gillnets and shore seines are used to catch Amblygaster spp. along south west coastal zones
Comparative material.
Amblygaster clupeoides: CAS / MBRC /618, 16 cm SL, Nagapattinam, east coast, India.
Amblygaster leiogaster: CAS / MBRC /517, 1.5 cm SL, Parangipettai,eastcoast, India.
Amblygaster sirm: CAS / MBRC /396, 13.7 cm SL, Parangipettai,eastcoast, India.
description: Published as part of Mary, Anthonipillai Arockia, Balasubramanian, Thngavelu, Selvaraju, Shanker & Shiny, Anthonipillai, 2017, Description of a new species of clupeid fish, Amblygaster indiana (Clupeiformes: Clupeidae), off Eraviputhenthurai, west coast of India, pp. 461-468 in Zootaxa 4247 (4) on pages 464-468, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4247.4.7, http://zenodo.org/record/438888