First record of rare deep-sea anglerfish from Arabian Sea

Phylum: Chordata Haeckel, 1874

Class: Actinopterygii Klein, 1885

Order: Lophiiformes Garman, 1899

Family: Diceratiidae Regan and Trewavas, 1932

Genus: Bufoceratias Whitley, 1931

Bufoceratias shaoi Pietsch, Ho and Chen, 2004

Collection: Southwest coast of India, (Arabian Sea), 7°47′ N, 76° 27′ E; 1300–1350 m; July 2013

Voucher No: CMLRE 316 02 10

Description: Metamorphosed females of the Bufoceratias shaoi have shorter illicium (25–40 % SL) and a much larger and more complex esca.

Remarks: Bufoceratias shaoi was previously known for only four specimens, three collected from off Taiwan and a fourth in the Mozambique Channel and 5 ^th from Arabian Sea (collected by CMLRE)

Distribution: Taiwan, Mozambique Channel, northern and western Indian Ocean at depth ranging from 500 to 1350 m.

Distribution map:

Identified by: Rajeesh Kumar M P

Publication: Rajeesh kumar M.P., Vinu Jacob, Sumod K.S., Sanjeevan V.N. and Hashim M. (2016) Three new records of rare deep-sea Anglerfishes (Lophiiformes: Ceratioidei) from the Northern Indian Ocean. Marine Biodiversity, Springer DOI 10.1007/s12526-015-0437-2