Ariosoma cmfriense sp. nov., a new species of conger eel (Anguilliformes: Congridae) from Indian waters

Terry, Stephy and Nair, Rekha J and Keerthana, P S and Uthrad, Pooja M and Azeez, Anzeena and Nahil, Alikutty and Varghese, Eldho and Jayasankar, J (2026) Ariosoma cmfriense sp. nov., a new species of conger eel (Anguilliformes: Congridae) from Indian waters. Zootaxa, 5878 (3). pp. 419-428. ISSN 1175-5334

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Abstract

A new congrid eel, Ariosoma cmfriense sp. nov., is described from a single specimen (255 mm total length, field code SK 76) collected off Quilon on the southwest coast of India. It can be distinguished from its twelve currently recognised Indian and near Indian congeners by a combination of features taken together namely a comparatively low vertebral count (135 total); lateral line pores (127–130), a preanal length of 43.9% of total length, 2 supraorbital pores, a dorsal fin origin just ahead of the pectoral fin base, a pectoral fin that is plain rather than two toned, a dark patch over the operculum, and a body peppered below the lateral line with fine black speckling that none of the other species share. A cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene tree places the new species as a clearly separate lineage, sister to Ariosoma indicum with strong nodal support, and the two are roughly 7% divergent at COI; well outside the range normally seen between individuals of the same congrid species and consistent with the morphological differences reported here. A detailed description, a character table set against all comparable congeners, and a detailed discussion of this species adds to the reported list of Ariosoma diversity along the Indian coast.

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