A crew of Indian researchers have rediscovered fish species Moringua hodgarti in Arunachal Pradesh’s Siang Valley after over a century. The information of the species was first collected through the Abor Expedition of 1911–1912 in Arunachal Pradesh.
The fish species measure round 177 mm to 211 mm and are generally generally known as swamp eels. (HT sourced picture)
The invention and evaluation of the fish species measuring round 177 mm to 211 mm and generally generally known as swamp eels has been revealed within the newest version of Zootaxa, a peer-reviewed journal for animal taxonomists, revealed on Monday.
“We report the rediscovery of this species after 110 years, and provide a re-description based on freshly collected specimens… This species is known only from the Siang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh,” the crew of researchers that comprised Nilanjan Mukherjee, Rahul G Kumar, Surya Narayanan and Aravind NA talked about within the article, a duplicate of which HT has seen.
Fishes of the household Synbranchidae, (swamp eels), are characterised by the absence of paired fins, unpaired fins rudimentary or absent, presence of an adjunct respiratory organ, and vascular modifications which allow them to breathe atmospheric oxygen. They’re distributed in freshwaters and infrequently brackishwaters throughout South and Central America, West Africa, massive components of Asia, and Australia.
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The Abor Hills in British India referred to the area alongside the Siang River valley in current day Arunachal Pradesh. The Abor expedition (1911–1912) was army expedition undertaken by the British towards the Adi folks following the homicide of a British officer.
Throughout the expedition, many species of crops and animals have been collected and among the many species discoveries made by the expedition was Moringua hodgarti in 1913. The six specimens collected are presently saved at Zoological Survey of India in Kolkata.
“The species has not been collected since its original description and thus the paucity of specimens in collections has limited further enquiry. As part of a field survey carried out between January and October 2022, retracing the route of the 1911–1912 Abor Expedition we recovered specimens of a synbranchid eel from the vicinity of the type locality of Moringua hodgarti, as well as additional locations in the Siang Valley. Examination of the syntypes of Moringua hodgarti confirmed that our specimens represent this species, marking its rediscovery after 110 years,” the article talked about.
Whereas the species was earlier positioned within the Moringua genus, the researchers after morphology and molecular evaluation confirmed that Moringua hodgarti is a species of synbranchid eel of the genus Ophichthys and renamed it Ophichthys hodgarti.
“Our examination of part of the type series and freshly collected material confirms its placement in Ophichthys, based on the presence of scales over the entire body, and a modified gill arch skeleton,” the article stated.
“The fact that over a century has elapsed between the description of Ophichthys hodgarti and its rediscovery serves to highlight the gaps in our knowledge of this highly cryptic and morphologically conservative group of fishes and suggests opportunities for researchers to intensify exploratory efforts to fill these gaps,” it added.