New fish species Macrognathus fasciatus described from Kerala

MACROGNATHUS FASCIATUS (SYNBRANCHIFORMES;
MASTACEMBELIDAE) - A NEW FISH SPECIES FROM KERALA, INDIA
Mathews Plamoottil and Nelson P. Abraham*
Department of Zoology, Govt. College, Chavara - 691 583, Kollam Dt, Kerala, India
*Department of Zoology, St. Thomas College, Kozhencherry, Kerala, India
e mail: mathewsplamoottil@gmail.com
(Received 22 August 2013, revised 15 October 2013, accepted 16 November 2013)
ABSTRACT – Taxonomic analysis of four specimens of Macrognathus collected from Manimala River in Kerala
reveals that they present several meristic and morphological differences from their relative species. The new species
is diagnosed by a combination of the following characters: 28- 30 dorsal spines; 26- 27 distinct, yellow, vertical
lines present on lateral sides, originating from mid dorsal line to ventral side; between every two yellow lines 8- 9
small whitish yellow round spots in a row; spinous part of dorsal fin originating at the level or slightly behind the
end of pectoral fin; a small round black spot present at the base of pectoral and caudal fin; the latter with 10- 13 rays.
Macrognathus fasciatus, the new species, is described and compared with its congeners.
Key words : New species, Macrognathus fasciatus, Macrognathus guentheri, vertical stripes.
J. Exp. Zool. India Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 49-54, 2014 ISSN 0972-0030
INTRODUCTION
Spiny eels, belonging to the family Mastacembelidae,
are eel- like fishes with elongated and compressed body.
They are characterized by a long snout with a well
developedfleshyrostralappendage,non-protractilemouth,
toothed pre maxilla and toothless maxilla, 7 to 40 detached,
depressible strong dorsal spines, one to three spines on
anal fin and small scales covering the body; pelvic fins
and girdles absent, gill openings located on lateral sides,
tail fin short and caudal region laterally compressed.
Macrognathus and Mastacembelus are the two genera
included in this family. Both these genera are distributed
throughout India.
Day (1889) recognized two genera of spiny eels,
namely Mastacembelus and Rhynchobdella under the
family Rhynchobdellidae of the orderAcanthopterigii. He
recorded a single species, Rhynchobdella aculeata under
the genus Rhynchobdella and five species under the
genus Mastacembelus. Boulenger (1912) published a
synoptic review of the genus Mastacembelus covering
both the Oriental and African forms and recognized 15
species from the Oriental region. Sufi (1956) revived the
Oriental fishes of the family Mastacembelidae and
considered Rhynchobdella to be a junior synonym of
Macrognathus. Jayaram (2010) recognized two genera
under Mastacembelidae viz., Macrognathus Lacepede
with six species and Mastacembelus Scopoli with five
species.
The presently collected fish from Manimala River of
Kerala possesses features of Macrognathus but carries
enough characters to distinguish it from its relatives. So it
is described here as a new speciesMacrognathus fasciatus.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Fishes were collected using cast nets and preserved
in 10% formalin. Identification of the species and its
comparison with the new species was carried out following
Jerdon (1849), Day (1865a, 1865b, 1876, 1889),Yazdani,
(1990), Talwar and Jhingran (1991) and Jayaram (2010).
Methods used are those of Jayaram (2002) and
measurements follow standard practices. In the table,
values of holotype are given first, then ranges followed
by their mean values. In the meristic data of fin rays,
capital Roman numerals indicate harder and stronger
spines and Arabic numerals indicate branched rays.
List ofAbbreviations: ZSI/WGRC- Zoological Survey
of India, Western Ghats Regional Centre, Kozhikode,
Kerala; DD & P- Distance between first dorsal spine
and pectoral base; IR- Identified Register; HL- head
length; ED- eye diameter; F- fish.
Macrognathus fasciatus, sp.nov
(Fig. 1- 6 & Table 1)
Materials Examined. - Holotype, ZSI/WGRC/IR
2422, 250 mm SL, Karuthavadasserikkara, Manimala
River, Kerala, India; collected by Mathews Plamoottil,
14 January 2012.
http//zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F6E6F1E5-576B-46F6-B304-482E7EC26EBF
http//zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:F09FF265-A65C-47E8-A1A7-9A42E6FE2C9E

Paratype, 3 specimens, ZSI/WGRC/IR 2423, 230-
306.5 mm SL, Karuthavadasserikkara, Manimala River,
Kerala, India; collected by Mathews Plamoottil, 20April
2012.
RESULTS
Diagnosis. – Macrognathus fasciatus differs from
its relative species by the presence of 28-30 dorsal spines,
26- 27 vertical lateral lines on the body, 8-9 whitish yellow
round spots present in a row in between every two vertical
lines and first dorsal spine originate at the level or a little
behind the end of pectoral fin. The new species can further
be diagnosed by comparatively greater body width (7.5-
8.3 % SL), shorter dorsal (10.5- 13.0 % HL) and anal
spines (13.2- 16.7 % HL), smaller eyes (3.7- 4.8 % HL),
shorter width of gape of mouth (7.7- 9.7 % HL) and
shorter lower jaw (9.1- 10.9 % HL); dorsal (2.2- 2.9 %
SL), pectoral (28.6- 32.1) and anal fins (1.7- 2.6) are also
comparatively shorter in Macrognathus fasciatus.
Description.- Dorsalfinspines-XXVIII-XXX;dorsal
fin soft rays- 60- 72; pectoral fin rays-15- 20; anal fin
spines- III; anal fin soft rays- 65- 67; caudal fin rays-10-
13; pre dorsal scales- 46; scales between lateral line and
soft dorsal fin- 16.
Body eel shaped, sides convex up to the origin of soft
dorsal, laterally compressed behind and tapering to both
ends. Mouth inferior, cleft narrow, gape of it not extending
to below the posterior nostril. Snout long, fleshy,
accommodating a concave prolongation of the upper jaw
without distinct tooth plates on ventral side. Rostrum
roughly triangular in cross section. Jaws sub equal; lower
jaw moderate. A spine present on pre orbital region near
to posterior pair of nostrils; eyes comparatively small,
laterallylocatedandnotprojectingabovethegeneralprofile
of the head and cannot be seen from below ventral surface.
Anterior nostrils in the form of elongated tubes, rim of
which guarded by six fimbriae. Spinous part of dorsal fin
originatingatverticalthroughtheleveloforslightlybehind
the end of pectoral fin; dorsal spines are strong, last spine
small and hidden beneath the skin, second last spine the
strongest. Anal spines close together, second one largest,
last one small and hidden beneath the skin. Soft part of
anal fin originating slightly in advance of the soft dorsal
fin. Caudal fin nearly rounded; it is merged with dorsal
and anal fins at the proximal half, distal half of caudal fin
projects out therefore it can be seen separated from the
dorsal and anal fins. Top of snout, inter orbital and inter
nasal spaces scale less. Genital papilla small. Vent nearer
to base of caudal fin than to snout.
Colour: fresh specimens- Back blackish brown;
ventral side yellow. Lateral sides dark brown with 26- 27
yellow vertical lines on lateral side, originating from mid
dorsal line to ventral side. On some parts of body, when
this vertical line reaches below lateral line it divides into
two and acquires the shape of an inverted fork; the latter
structure may be found on ventro- lateral side in some.
Upper part of the vertical line may be indistinct or
seemingly absent at the anterior part of the body. In
between every two yellow lines 8- 9 small whitish yellow
round spots are present in rows; 2 spots present inside the
‘fork region’ are more distinct. Whitish yellow round
spots may be indistinct or absent on some parts of the
body. 11- 12 rectangular brownish black spots present at
the base of soft dorsal; in between these, at some places,
small spots of similar shapes present. Pectorals yellow
with 4- 5 roughly hemi spherical black bands formed of a
number of small dots; a black spot present on the base of
pectoral. Soft dorsal fin yellowish green, decorated with
reticulated yellow network of irregular mesh size formed
of a number of spots. Anal fin greenish yellow provided
withanumberofobliquestripeswhicharethecontinuations
of vertical stripes on the body. Caudal fin with 8- 9 yellow
vertical lines formed of broken pieces of yellow lines
formed from a number of pieces. A black spot present at
caudal fin base. Lateral line with a whitish yellow line on
its anterior part and a row of round black dots from its
anterior to posterior ends. Preserved specimens- After
preservation in formalin body color turns to brownish
black; fins acquire a black color; vertical stripes become
more distinct.
Etymology: The specific epithet ‘fasciatus’ was taken
from Latin language meaning ‘banded’ refers to vertical
stripes present on the lateral sides of the body of the new
fish.
Distribution: Currently known to occur only at of
Karuthavadasserikkara of Manimala River, Kerala, India.
Habitat: The river stretch of Manimala River at
Karuthavadasserikkara, the type locality of Macrognathus
fasciatus, is generally occupied by sand or sandy gravel
with occasional presence of bed rock or black clays. Width
and depth in this area are 45.0-125.0 m and 0.3- 8 m
respectively; the bank height is 4.0- 5.0 m above the
general water level in summer season. The area is
blanketed by moderate to dense riparian vegetation;
intermittent occurrence of low riparian vegetation noticed
at certain places. Ochreinauclea missionis, Hydnocarpus
pentandra, Aporosa lindleyana, Tribulus terretris,
Tamarindus indica, Bombax ceiba etc are some of the
major plant components of the area. Anguilla bengalensis,
A. bicolor, Barilius bakeri, Dayella malabarica, Danio
malabaricus, Puntius amphibius, Systomus subnasutus,
Dawkinsia filamentosa, Haludaria fasciata, Pethia ticto,
50 Mathews Plamoottil and Nelson P.Abraham

Fig. 1 : Fresh specimen of Macrognathus fasciatus, Holotype, ZSI/WGRC/IR 2422, 250 mm SL, Karuthavadasserikkara, Kerala.
Fig. 2 : Fresh specimen of Macrognathus fasciatus, Paratype, ZSI/WGRC/IR 2423, 230 mm SL, Karuthavadasserikkara, Kerala.
Fig. 3 : A preserved specimen of Macrognathus fasciatus, Paratype, ZSI/WGRC/IR 2423, 306.5 mm SL, Karuthavadasserikkara, Kerala.
Fig. 4 : Anterior region of Macrognathus fasciatus
Mystus oculatus, Ompok malabaricus, Wallago attu,
Pseudotropius mitchelli, Batasio travancoria, Nandus
nandus, Etroplus maculatus, Etroplus suratensis, Anabas
testeudineus, Mastacembelus armatus, Channa striatus,
C. marulius, C. gachua, C. micropeltes etc are the co
occurring fish species.
DISCUSSION
According to the present records, only seven spiny
eels namely Mastacembelus armatus, M. malabaricus,
Macrognathus guentheri, M. aral, M. morehensis, M.
puncalus and M. lineatomaculatus are residing in the
inland water bodies of India ((Jerdon 1849; Datta and
Srivastava 1988,Yazdani 1990;Talwar and Jhingran 1991;
Arunkumar and Tombi 2000; Nath and Dey 2000; Britz
2010). Of these, three species are from Kerala; they are
Mastacembelus armatus (Lacepede), Mastacembelus
malabaricus Jerdon and Macrognathus guentheri
(Day). Macrognathus armatus described by Lacepede
(1800) is now renamed as Mastacembalus armatus.
Mastacembelus malabaricus had been considered as a
synonym of Macrognathus guentheri until recently (Day
A new fish species from Kerala 51

1889; Talwar and Jhingran 1991; Jayaram 2010).
However Menon (1999) considered guentheri as a
synonym of malabaricus on priority basis. But lately
Plamoottil and Abraham (2013) redescribed
Mastacembelus malabaricus and resurrected it from the
synonymy of Macrognathus guentheri.
The new fish can be included in the genus
Macrognathus due to the possession of an elongated
snout accommodating a concave prolongation of the upper
jaw, rim of anterior nostril guarded by six fimbriae, dorsal
fin with less than 32 spines, dorsal fin inserted at the level
of or slightly behind the end of pectoral fins and caudal
fin distinctly separated from dorsal and anal fins (Yazdani
1990; Rema Devi et al, 2007).
Table 1 : Morphometric features of Macrognathus fasciatus and M. guentheri
S.No. Characters Macrognathus fasciatus
M.guentheri
Holotype Range Mean S D
1 ‘Total Length 262.0 244- 323 268.3 37.5 281- 319
(mm)
2 Standard Length (mm) 250.0 230- 306.5 254.1 36.2 263- 299
Percentage of Standard Length
3 Head length 15.6 14.8- 16.5 15.5 0.7 14.1-16.3
4 Body depth 11.2 11.2- 12.6 11.7 0.6 11.1-12.0
5 Bodywidth 8.0 7.5- 8.3 7.9 0.3 7.0-7.5
6 Length of pectoral 5.0 4.3- 5.2 4.8 0.4 4.4-5.3
7 Height of dorsal fin 2.8 2.2- 2.9 2.6 0.3 3.2- 4.7
8 Height of anal fin 2.2 1.7- 2.6 2.2 0.4 3.1-3.7
9 Length of caudal fin 5.8 5.5- 6.9 6.1 0.6 5.8-7.0
10 Length of base of soft dorsal fin 36.8 36.1- 39.2 30.2 1.6 37.0-38.0
11 Length of base of soft anal fin 38.0 37.8- 40.8 39.21 1.5 39.0-40.7
12 Length of base of pectoral 1.6 1.6- 2.2 1.8 0.3 1.7-1.9
13 Pre dorsal length 23.0 22.2- 26.1 24.0 1.8 21.1-24.0
14 Pre anal length 54.4 53.0- 59.4 56.2 2.9 56.0-61.6
15 Head length (mm) 39.0 35.0- 45.5 39 4.4 41.0-45.0
Percentage of head length
16 Head depth 41.0 36.8- 41.8 39.2 2.6 39.5- 42.2
17 Head width 33.3 28.9- 37.1 33.6 3.5 29.3-35.0
18 Eye diameter 3.8 3.7- 4.8 4.1 0.5 7.3-10.0
19 Snoutlength 43.6 38.6- 43.6 42.1 2.5 37.2- 41.1
20 Inter orbital width 10.3 10.0- 10.9 10.4 0.4 10.5-12.0
21 Width of gape of mouth 7.7 7.7- 9.7 8.7 0.8 10.9-12.0
22 Length of lower jaw 10.3 9.1- 10.9 10.2 0.8 12.0-13.3
23 Length of pectoral fin 32.1 28.6-32.1 30.7 1.5 32.6-36.1
24 DD & P 35.5 30.0-42.1 36.0 2.1 37.8- 41.0
25 Distance from anal to vent 17.5 15.8-19.4 17.6 1.5 15.6- 17.0
26 Length of dorsal spine 12.5 10.5-13.0 12.0 1.2 14.0-17.8
27 Length of anal spine 13.8 13.2-16.7 14.6 0.8 20.0-21.0

Fig. 5 : Middle region of Macrognathus fasciatus; Fig. 6 : Posterior region of Macrognathus fasciatus
Fig. 7 : Fresh specimen of Macrognathus guentheri
The only one relative species of Macrognathus
fasciatus from Kerala is Macrognathus guentheri
(Day) (Fig. 7). But the guentheri from its type locality is
unavailable in Zoological museums at present. To solve
this dilemma and also to trace out the major differences
with the present species, the first author collected 4
specimens of M. guentheri from Karuvannoor River of
Thrissur, Kerala, its type locality. It revealed that Day’s
spiny eel differs from the new species greatly. In
Macrognathus guentheri dorsal spines are 30- 31 (vs.
28- 30 in the new species), body width lesser (7.0- 7.5 %
SL vs.7.5- 8.3), height of dorsal fin greater (3.2- 4.7 %
SL vs. 2.2- 2.9), anal fin elongated (3.1- 3.7 % SL vs.
1.7- 2.6), eyes larger (ED 7.3- 10.0 % HL vs. 3.7- 4.8),
gape of mouth wide (10.9- 12.0 % HL vs. 7.7- 9.7),
lower jaw longer (12.0- 13.3 % HL vs. 9.1- 10.9), anal
spine elongated (20.0-21.0 % HL vs. 13.2-16.7) and
pectoral fin longer (32.6- 36.1 % HL vs. 28.6- 32.1). In
M. guentheri a number of blotchy markings or short
oblique bars or marblings present on the sides (vs. no
oblique bars or marbling present on the body of new fish),
dorsal spines are longer (14.0- 17.8 % HL vs. 10.5-13.0)
A new fish species from Kerala 53

and rostrum rounded in cross section (vs. triangular). In
the new fish lateral sides dark brown with 26 yellow
vertical lines originating from mid dorsal line to ventral
side, 8- 9 small whitish yellow round spots present in a
row on lateral side, 11- 12 rectangular brownish black
spots present at the base of soft dorsal which is decorated
with reticulated yellow network of irregular mesh formed
of a number of spots and anal fin provided with a number
of oblique stripes which are the continuations of vertical
stripes on lateral sides; this type of body pigmentation
absent in M. guentheri.
In Macrognathus caudiocellatus dorsal spines are
31- 34 (vs. 28- 30 in the new species), anal soft rays 60-
65 (vs. 65-67), pectoral fin rays 19- 22 (vs. 15-20) and
caudal fin rays are 15- 18 (vs. 12-13) (Boulenger 1912,
Yazdani 1990). In Macrognathus pancalus dorsal fin
spines are 24- 26 (vs. 28-30 in the new fish), dorsal fin
rays 30- 42 (vs. 60-72) and anal fin rays 31- 46 (vs. 65-
67) (Hamilton 1822; Day 1876, 1889; Sundara Raj 1916;
Sufi 1956; Datta & Srivastava 1988;Arun kumar &Tombi
2000; Nath & Dey 2000). In Macrognathus zebrinus
spinous portion of dorsal fin originating above the middle
of pectoral fin (vs. originating at the level of or slightly
behind the end of pectoral fin), dorsal fin rays are 49- 55
(vs. 60-72), anal fin rays 51- 59 (vs. 65-67) and caudal
fin rays are 17- 19 (vs. 12-13) (Gunther 1861; Day 1876;
1889; Sufi 1956;Yazdani 1990; Talwar & Jhingran 1991).
In Macrognathus aral dorsal spines are 16- 23 (vs. 28-
30 in new species), dorsal fin rays 44-45 (vs. 60-72),
pectoral fin rays 19- 24 (vs. 15-20) and caudal fin distinctly
separated from dorsal and anal fins (vs. caudal fin
completely united with dorsal and anal fins) (Day 1876,
1889; Arun kumar & Tombi 2000). M. morehensis can
be easily distinguished from the present species in having
11- 16 dorsal fin spines (vs. 28- 30 in the new species),
39- 51 dorsal fin rays (vs. 60-72) and anal fin soft rays
40- 54 (vs. 65- 67) (Arun Kumar and Tombi 2000).
Macrognathus lineatomaculatus (Britz 2010) can be
distinguished from the present species in having 19- 22
dorsal spines (vs. 28- 30), 50- 57 dorsal rays (vs. 60-72)
and 47- 54 anal soft rays (vs. 65-67). Taxonomic analysis
unveiled that Macrognathus caudiocellatus, M.
pancalus, M. zebrinus, M. aral, M. morehensis and
Macrognathus lineatomaculatus are not much related
to the present species.
Comparative material: Macrognathus guentheri:-
STC/DOZ 20, 4 examples, Karuvannoor River, Thrissur,
Kerala, coll. Mathews Plamoottil, 10.01. 2013.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First author acknowledges the University Grants
Commission of India for sanctioning faculty improvement
programme to undergo research. Both the authors
acknowledge St. Thomas College, Kozhencherry for
providing the facilities.
REFERENCES
Arunkumar L and Tombi S H (2000) Spiny eels of the genus
Macrognathus Lacepede from Manipur, with description of a
new species. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 97 (1), 117- 120.
Britz R (2010) Species of Macrognathus aculeatus group in Myanmar
with remarks on M. caudiocellatus. Ichthyol. explor. freshwat.
20 (4), 295- 308.
Boulenger G A (1912) A synopsis of the fishes of the genus
Mastacembelus. J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 15, 197- 203.
Hamilton F (1822) An account of fishes found in the Ganges and its
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Datta M J S and Srivastava M P (1988) Natural history of fishes and
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Day F (1865b) On the fishes of Cochin on the Malabar coast of India.
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New fish species Macrognathus fasciatus described from Kerala

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