Sphyraena arabiansis

Arabian barracuda
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Carangiformes
Suborder:	Centropomoidei
Family:	Sphyraenidae
Genus:	Sphyraena
Species:	S. arabiansis
Binomial name
Sphyraena arabiansis Abdussamad & Retheesh, 2015

Sphyraena arabiansis commonly known as the Arabian barracuda Is a species of barracuda found in the eastern Arabian Sea. Once thought to be a population of the great barracuda they are now considered distinct due to morphological and genetic differences. ^{[1] [2]}

Distribution

Discovered off the coast of Kerala in Southwest India and around the Lakshadweep Islands. ^[3] They are also known to occur in other parts of the Arabian sea such as off the coast of Pakistan. ^[4]

Distinction

Arabian barracudas are closely related to the great barracuda but are distinguished by having many small cycloid scales down the length of the body, a lack of black spots, a rounded maxilla that ends before and below the anterior margin of the eye, and their Lateral line curves before the origin of the dorsal fin. ^[2] These morphological differences along with a few others and genetic differences distinguish the two species. ^{[3] [2]}

References

1. Sudha Nambudiri (Jul 8, 2015). "New species of barracuda identified in Arabian Sea | Kochi News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
2. Abdussamad, E. M.; et al. (2015). "Sphyraena arabiansis a new species of barracuda (Family: Sphyraenidae) from the south-west coast of India" (PDF). Indian J. Fish. 62 (2): 1–6.
3. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Sphyraena arabiansis". FishBase . January 2022 version.
4. Manzoor, Hina (2020). "FIRST RECORD OF ARABIAN BARRACUDA SPHYRAENA ARABIANSIS, ABDUSSAMAD & RETHEESH, 2015 (FAMILY: SPHYRAENIDAE) FROM PAKISTAN" (PDF). International Journal of Biology and Biotechnology. 17: 463–468.