06/09/2026
๐ด๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ข๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, a new species of deepwater catshark (Pentanchidae), is described from specimens collected off the Kollam slope, southwest coast of India, at a depth of 400โ650 m. This new species is placed in the ๐ด๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ข๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ข๐ subgroup among the three groups divided within the genus ๐ด๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ข๐๐ข๐ .
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ง๐ถ๐๐น๐ฒ
DNA barcoding reveals a new species of deepwater catshark of the genus ๐ด๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ข๐๐ข๐ (Chondrichthyes: Pentanchidae) from India, in the Southeastern Arabian Sea
Paywall - https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5828.2.6
๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
Beura, S., K.k, B. & Banerjee, D. (2026) DNA barcoding reveals a new species of deepwater catshark of the genus ๐ด๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ข๐๐ข๐ (Chondrichthyes: Pentanchidae) from India, in the Southeastern Arabian Sea. Zootaxa, 5828 (2), 303โ317. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5828.2.6
๐๐ฏ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐
This article provides a description of a new species of a catshark of the family Pentanchidae, ๐ด๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ข๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ sp. nov. based on 4 specimens, which include two males and two females ranging from 439โ473 mm TL, collected off the Kollam slope, Southwest coast of India, at a depth of 400โ650 m.
This new species is placed in the ๐ด๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ข๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ข๐ subgroup among the three groups divided within the genus ๐ด๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ข๐๐ข๐ and is characterized by the following features: slender body, tapering posteriorly; nostril length is smaller than internarial width; pre-outer nostril length shorter than interorbital space; pre-outer nostril length 3.7(3.5โ5.2) % TL; pre-oral length shorter than the mouth width, 33.6(31.7โ34.0)% head length and 8.1(7.1โ8.1)% TL; nostril-mouth space shorter than nostril length, about 0.4 (0.3โ0.4) times; upper labial furrows longer than the lowers furrows; internarial width slightly greater than or equal to orbit length, about 1.09(1.0โ1.11) times; 5th gill slit height smallest, about 46.8(46.8โ62.5)% eye length; Inter-dorsal space 9.3(8.8โ10.5) % TL; first dorsal fin smaller than the second dorsal fin; first dorsal fin insertion is opposite to a**l fin origin; a**l fin base length is greater than pectoral-pelvic space and pelvic-a**l space; pectoral to pelvic space greater than pelvic to a**l space; spiral valve turns 11โ12; total vertebrae 105โ115. ๐ด๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ข๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ sp. nov. is also distinguished from its congeners based on DNA sequence divergence of the COI gene.
This new species has a distribution along the Kollam slope, Arabian Sea, whereas its three closest congeners, based on a molecular level, are from distant locations: ๐ด. ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ from Southwestern Pacific Ocean, ๐ด. ๐๐๐๐๐๐โ๐ฆ๐๐โ๐ข๐ from Northwest Pacific and ๐ด. ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ from New Zealand.
๐ฃ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐
Cover image for study - ๐ด๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ข๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐๐.
ยฉ 2026 the Author(s). Published in the journal Zootaxa.
