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Issue: Vol. 5828 No. 2: 9 Jun. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-06-09
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5828.2.6
Page range: 303-317
Abstract views: 133
PDF downloaded: 4

DNA barcoding reveals a new species of deepwater catshark of the genus Apristurus (Chondrichthyes: Pentanchidae) from India, in the Southeastern Arabian Sea

Marine Biology Regional Centre; Zoological Survey of India; Chennai-600028.
Marine Biology Regional Centre; Zoological Survey of India; Chennai-600028.
Zoological Survey of India; Prani Vigyan Bhavan; New Alipore; Kolkata-700053.
Pisces Pentanchidae Apristurus deep-sea shark new species DNA barcode India

Abstract

This article provides a description of a new species of a catshark of the family Pentanchidae, Apristurus drona sp. nov. based on 4 specimens, which include two males and two females ranging from 439–473 mm TL, collected off the Kollam slope, Southwest coast of India, at a depth of 400–650 m. This new species is placed in the Apristurus brunneus subgroup among the three groups divided within the genus Apristurus 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(3.5–5.2) % TL; pre-oral length shorter than the mouth width, 33.6(31.7–34.0)% head length and 8.1(7.1–8.1)% TL; nostril-mouth space shorter than nostril length, about 0.4 (0.3–0.4) times; upper labial furrows longer than the lowers furrows; internarial width slightly greater than or equal to orbit length, about 1.09(1.0–1.11) times; 5th gill slit height smallest, about 46.8(46.8–62.5)% eye length; Inter-dorsal space 9.3(8.8–10.5) % TL; first dorsal fin smaller than the second dorsal fin; first dorsal fin insertion is opposite to anal fin origin; anal fin base length is greater than pectoral-pelvic space and pelvic-anal space; pectoral to pelvic space greater than pelvic to anal space; spiral valve turns 11–12; total vertebrae 105–115. Apristurus drona 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: A. nayakai from Southwestern Pacific Ocean, A. macrorhynchus from Northwest Pacific and A. exsanguis from New Zealand.

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How to Cite

Beura, S., K.k, B. & Banerjee, D. (2026) DNA barcoding reveals a new species of deepwater catshark of the genus Apristurus (Chondrichthyes: Pentanchidae) from India, in the Southeastern Arabian Sea. Zootaxa, 5828 (2), 303–317. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5828.2.6