Redescription of <i>Dicrolene nigricaudis </i>(Alcock, 1899) a rare species of deep sea cusk eel (Ophidiiformes; Ophidiidae) from Indian EEZ

Abstract

<i>Dicrolene nigricaudis </i>(Alcock, 1899), a rare species of deep sea cusk eel described from Andaman Sea and Arabian Sea in 1899 is redescribed and compared with its closely related species, <i>D. tristis </i>in terms of meristics and morphometrics in order to establish its indi<translator wordrecognize="Vi" w:st="on">vidual taxonomic identity. The specimens were collected during the fishery survey cruises of <i>FOR</i><i> V Sagar Sampada </i>along the continental slope of Indian EEZ. <i>D. nigricaudis </i>is characterized by two median and a pair of basibranchial tooth patches and lower elongated free rays of pectoral fin. The paper highlights the taxonomic characters useful for species identification. </translator>