New distributional record of <em>Halieutaea Indica </em> (Lophiiformes: Ogcocephalidae) from Chilika lagoon, India

Abstract

The present study provides the first occurrence report of Indian hand fish, <em>Halieutaea indica</em> Annandale & Jenkins, 1910 from Outer Channel of the Chilika Lagoon. This bathy-demersal species is now the only member of the order Lophiiformes known to occur in this brackish water ecosystem. Its incidence for the first time in the Chilika may be attributed to change in the lagoon habitat after the opening of new lagoonal inlets, that subsequently accommodating newer species. This species is a pure marine form and might have entered the lagoon during the higher salinity phase in the lagoon. Present study further described the gut content of <em>Halieutaea indica</em> that comprised of benthic crab, prawn, amphipoda and free-living nematodes.