Kerala: Identification of New Marine Species

A new Carangid species has been identified by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) from the Indian coast of Kerala.

Overview:

This newly identified fish belongs to the group named ‘queen fish’. The scientific name of this fish is Scomberoides pelagicus. In the local language this fish is called ‘pola vatta’.

In the Indian ocean there are more than sixty species of carangids. Out of them, four belong to the ‘Queen Fish’ group and the newly identified fish is number five. Across the globe, three queen fishes are extinct due to a lot of reasons like climate change, overfishing, etc. The newly identified species is found in the coastal region of the country along with Kerala. This fish also fetch a good demand in the local markets.

Description the fish

It has been confirmed by CMFRI that the newly identified fish is a new species. This has been confirmed after detailed genetic and taxonomic analyses were performed on the fish. The newly identified fish is distinct as it has a deep ovate body, its head profile is concave dorsal shaped, and has stout. It also has fewer numbers of gill rakers on its first gill arch as compared to its other closely related species.