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Abstract
The present study documents the first occurrence of Siganus fuscescens, known as the mottled spine foot, within the inshore waters of Vaan Island (latitude 8°73 N, longitude 78°16 E) and New Fishing Harbor (latitude 8°84 N, longitude 78°22 E), which are located in the Gulf of Mannar region. The species, commonly referred to as rabbitfishes, was captured by bottom-set gill nets deployed in reef-associated areas of the Gulf of Mannar at a depth of approximately 2–3 m. Furthermore, detailed analyses of the morphometric and meristic characteristics of the specimens were conducted using established taxonomic keys. A comprehensive discussion is also presented, elucidating the distribution patterns of Siganus species within the Gulf of Mannar region.
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References
- Anam, R. O., Mwatete, C. M., & Wambiji, N. (2020). Morphological and meristic characters of six rabbitfish species (Family: Siganidae) in Kenya. Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science, 19(2), 89-103. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/wiojms.v19i2.7
- Barik, T. K., Swain, S. N., Sahu, B., Tripathy, B., & Acharya, U. R. (2020). Morphological and molecular evidence supports the first occurrence of two fishes, Siganus sutor (Valenciennes, 1835) and Seriolina nigrofasciata (Rüppell, 1829) (Actinopterygii: Perciformes), from marine waters of the Odisha coast, Bay of Bengal, India. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 39, 26-35. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-020-1609-x
- De Bruin, G. H. P., Russell, B. C., & Bogusch, A. (1995). FAO species identification field guide for fishery purposes. The marine fishery resources of Sri Lanka. FAO.
- Fischer, W., Bianchi, G., (Ed)., (1984). FAO Species identification sheets for Fishery purposes. Western Indian Ocean. (Fishing Area 51). Rome: Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA)/Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Vols. 1 - 6.
- Froese, R., & Pauly, D, eds. (2021). Species of Siganus in FishBase. June 2021 version.
- Horton, T., Kroh, A., Ahyong, S. (2022) World Register of Marine Species. VLIZ. https://www.marinespecies.org. Accessed 12 July 2022.
- Jaikumar, M. (2012). A review on biology and aquaculture potential of rabbit fish in Tamil Nadu (Siganus canaliculatus). International Journal of Plant, Animal and Environmental Sciences, 2(2), 57-64.
- Kiriake, A., Ishizaki, S., Nagashima, Y., & Shiomi, K. (2017). Occurrence of a stonefish toxin-like toxin in the venom of the rabbitfish Siganus fuscescens. Toxicon, 140, 139-146. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2017.10.015
- Knowlton, N. (1993). Sibling species in the sea. Annual review of ecology and systematics, 24(1), 189-216. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.24.1.189
- Lieske, E., & Myers, R. (1994). Collins pocket guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400.
- Macusi, E. D., Masagnay, N. T., & Nallos, I. M. (2023). Effects of fish herbivory on seagrass meadows of Guang-guang, Mati City, Philippines. Marine & Fishery Sciences (MAFIS), 36(3), 1-14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.47193/mafis.3632023010902
- Miya, M., & Nishida, M. (1997). Speciation in the open ocean. Nature, 389(6653), 803-804. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/39774
- Murugan, A., & Durgekar, R. (2008). Status of fisheries in Tamil Nadu, India: A snapshot of present and long-term trends. K. Shanker, N. Namboothiri Beyond the tsunami: social, ecological and policy analyses of coastal and marine systems on the mainland coast of India. Posttsunami Environment Initiative Report submitted to the United Nations Development Programme. UNDP/UNTRS, Chennai and ATREE, Bangalore, India, 118-178.
- Murugan, A., & Namboothri, N. (2012). Finfishes of Gulf of Mannar-A Field Identification Guide. Published by Dakshin Foundation Bengaluru, 72-84.
- Parawansa, B. S., Ali, S. A., Nessa, N., Rappe, R. A., & Indar, Y. N. (2020). Biological analysis of adult rabbitfish (Siganus guttatus bloch, 1787) in seagrass and coral reef ecosystems at laikang bay, takalar regency. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 473, No. 1, p. 012006). IOP Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/473/1/012006
- Rajan, P. T. (2003). field guide to marine food fishes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Zoological Survey of India. pp. 1 - 260.
- Ramakrishna, T. I., Sreeraj, C. R., Raghunathan, C., Raghuraman, R., Rajan, P. T., & Yogesh Kumar, J. S. (2010). An account of additions to the Ichthyofauna of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Records of Zoological Survey of India, 326, 1-40.
- Ramkumar, B. and Murugan, A. (2018). Occurrence and characteristics of the brown-spotted spine foot, Siganus stellatus (Forsskål, 1775) from Gulf of Mannar, Southeast coast of India. Indian Journal of Geo Marine Sciences, 47(02), pp.390-394.
- Saha, S., Shamsunnahar, S. S., Sarker, A., & Ahsan, K. (2020). First distributional record of sixteen Coral Associated fish species from Saint Martin’s Island, Bangladesh. Bangladesh J. Zool, 48(2), 263-288. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjz.v48i2.52368
- Sudo, K., Maehara, S., Nakaoka, M., & Fujii, M. (2022). Predicting future shifts in the distribution of tropicalization indicator fish that affect coastal ecosystem services of Japan. Frontiers in Built Environment, 7, 788700. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2021.788700
- Varghese, M., Manisseri, M. K., Ramamoorthy, N., Geetha, P. M., Thomas, V. J., & Gandhi, A. (2011). Coral reef fishes of Gulf of Mannar, SE of India. Fishing Chimes, 31(1), 38-40.
- Varghese, M., Ranjith, L., & Joshi, K. K. (2017). Diversity of reef fishes in trap fishery at Keelakarai, Gulf of Mannar, south‒east coast of India. Indian Journal of Fisheries, 64(1), 23-30. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21077/ijf.2017.64.1.53263-04
- Woodland, D. (1997). Siganidae. Spinefoots, rabbitfishes. FAO identification guide for fishery purposes. The Western Central Pacific, 3627-3650.
- Woodland, D.J. (1983). Family: Siganidae, In: FAO Species Identification Sheets for Fishery Purposes, Fishing Area, 51 (W. Indian Ocean), Fischer, W. and Blanchi, G. (Eds), prepared by FAO, Rome, Italy (Pages variable).
- Zolkaply, S. Z., Do, T. D., Asaduzzaman, M., Seah, Y. G., Hurwood, D., & Wong, L. L. (2021). Evolutionary history and taxonomic reappraisal of coral reef rabbitfishes (Siganidae): Patterns of lineage diversification and speciation. Biology, 10(11), 1109. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/biology10111109
References
Anam, R. O., Mwatete, C. M., & Wambiji, N. (2020). Morphological and meristic characters of six rabbitfish species (Family: Siganidae) in Kenya. Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science, 19(2), 89-103. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/wiojms.v19i2.7
Barik, T. K., Swain, S. N., Sahu, B., Tripathy, B., & Acharya, U. R. (2020). Morphological and molecular evidence supports the first occurrence of two fishes, Siganus sutor (Valenciennes, 1835) and Seriolina nigrofasciata (Rüppell, 1829) (Actinopterygii: Perciformes), from marine waters of the Odisha coast, Bay of Bengal, India. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 39, 26-35. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-020-1609-x
De Bruin, G. H. P., Russell, B. C., & Bogusch, A. (1995). FAO species identification field guide for fishery purposes. The marine fishery resources of Sri Lanka. FAO.
Fischer, W., Bianchi, G., (Ed)., (1984). FAO Species identification sheets for Fishery purposes. Western Indian Ocean. (Fishing Area 51). Rome: Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA)/Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Vols. 1 - 6.
Froese, R., & Pauly, D, eds. (2021). Species of Siganus in FishBase. June 2021 version.
Horton, T., Kroh, A., Ahyong, S. (2022) World Register of Marine Species. VLIZ. https://www.marinespecies.org. Accessed 12 July 2022.
Jaikumar, M. (2012). A review on biology and aquaculture potential of rabbit fish in Tamil Nadu (Siganus canaliculatus). International Journal of Plant, Animal and Environmental Sciences, 2(2), 57-64.
Kiriake, A., Ishizaki, S., Nagashima, Y., & Shiomi, K. (2017). Occurrence of a stonefish toxin-like toxin in the venom of the rabbitfish Siganus fuscescens. Toxicon, 140, 139-146. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2017.10.015
Knowlton, N. (1993). Sibling species in the sea. Annual review of ecology and systematics, 24(1), 189-216. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.24.1.189
Lieske, E., & Myers, R. (1994). Collins pocket guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400.
Macusi, E. D., Masagnay, N. T., & Nallos, I. M. (2023). Effects of fish herbivory on seagrass meadows of Guang-guang, Mati City, Philippines. Marine & Fishery Sciences (MAFIS), 36(3), 1-14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.47193/mafis.3632023010902
Miya, M., & Nishida, M. (1997). Speciation in the open ocean. Nature, 389(6653), 803-804. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/39774
Murugan, A., & Durgekar, R. (2008). Status of fisheries in Tamil Nadu, India: A snapshot of present and long-term trends. K. Shanker, N. Namboothiri Beyond the tsunami: social, ecological and policy analyses of coastal and marine systems on the mainland coast of India. Posttsunami Environment Initiative Report submitted to the United Nations Development Programme. UNDP/UNTRS, Chennai and ATREE, Bangalore, India, 118-178.
Murugan, A., & Namboothri, N. (2012). Finfishes of Gulf of Mannar-A Field Identification Guide. Published by Dakshin Foundation Bengaluru, 72-84.
Parawansa, B. S., Ali, S. A., Nessa, N., Rappe, R. A., & Indar, Y. N. (2020). Biological analysis of adult rabbitfish (Siganus guttatus bloch, 1787) in seagrass and coral reef ecosystems at laikang bay, takalar regency. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 473, No. 1, p. 012006). IOP Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/473/1/012006
Rajan, P. T. (2003). field guide to marine food fishes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Zoological Survey of India. pp. 1 - 260.
Ramakrishna, T. I., Sreeraj, C. R., Raghunathan, C., Raghuraman, R., Rajan, P. T., & Yogesh Kumar, J. S. (2010). An account of additions to the Ichthyofauna of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Records of Zoological Survey of India, 326, 1-40.
Ramkumar, B. and Murugan, A. (2018). Occurrence and characteristics of the brown-spotted spine foot, Siganus stellatus (Forsskål, 1775) from Gulf of Mannar, Southeast coast of India. Indian Journal of Geo Marine Sciences, 47(02), pp.390-394.
Saha, S., Shamsunnahar, S. S., Sarker, A., & Ahsan, K. (2020). First distributional record of sixteen Coral Associated fish species from Saint Martin’s Island, Bangladesh. Bangladesh J. Zool, 48(2), 263-288. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjz.v48i2.52368
Sudo, K., Maehara, S., Nakaoka, M., & Fujii, M. (2022). Predicting future shifts in the distribution of tropicalization indicator fish that affect coastal ecosystem services of Japan. Frontiers in Built Environment, 7, 788700. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2021.788700
Varghese, M., Manisseri, M. K., Ramamoorthy, N., Geetha, P. M., Thomas, V. J., & Gandhi, A. (2011). Coral reef fishes of Gulf of Mannar, SE of India. Fishing Chimes, 31(1), 38-40.
Varghese, M., Ranjith, L., & Joshi, K. K. (2017). Diversity of reef fishes in trap fishery at Keelakarai, Gulf of Mannar, south‒east coast of India. Indian Journal of Fisheries, 64(1), 23-30. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21077/ijf.2017.64.1.53263-04
Woodland, D. (1997). Siganidae. Spinefoots, rabbitfishes. FAO identification guide for fishery purposes. The Western Central Pacific, 3627-3650.
Woodland, D.J. (1983). Family: Siganidae, In: FAO Species Identification Sheets for Fishery Purposes, Fishing Area, 51 (W. Indian Ocean), Fischer, W. and Blanchi, G. (Eds), prepared by FAO, Rome, Italy (Pages variable).
Zolkaply, S. Z., Do, T. D., Asaduzzaman, M., Seah, Y. G., Hurwood, D., & Wong, L. L. (2021). Evolutionary history and taxonomic reappraisal of coral reef rabbitfishes (Siganidae): Patterns of lineage diversification and speciation. Biology, 10(11), 1109. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/biology10111109