Journal of the Marine Biological Association of India

Argonauta hians Lightfoot, 1786 (Cephalopoda: Argonautidae) in the gut of Alepisaurus ferox from Indian waters and its phylogenetics

Volume 66 Issue 1

H. D. Pradeep, M. Nashad, S. Ramachandran, Solly Solomon and Raju S. Nagpure

10.6024/jmbai.2024.66.1.2442-13

Abstract

The Paper Nautilus, Argonauta hians Lightfoot 1786, belongs to the superfamily Argonautoidea and is widely distributed along the tropical and subtropical oceans. The present study describes the record of A. hians recorded from the gut of a long-snouted lancetfish, Alepisaurus ferox (133cm TL and 2 kg weight). A. ferox was hooked during the regular multifilament tuna longlining onboard MFV Yellow Fin on 20 th October 2021 off Goa (Lat. 15º 19.44 N; Long. 70º 50.20 E) at 2652 m depth along the Central west coast of India. A detailed note on the distribution of A. hians in Indian waters is provided along with morphological characterization of the specimen and validation with molecular marker.

Keywords

Octopus, paper nautilus, winged argonaut, Arabian Sea

Date : 30-04-2024