New fish species discovered in Bahuda estuary

Berhampur: A team of researchers from the Estuarine Biology Regional Centre of the Zoological Survey of India have discovered a new fish species in the Bahuda estuary in Ganjam district, a report said.

The newly identified species has been named Pseudorhombus bahudaensis. It bears close resemblance to Pseudorhombus arsius, commonly known as the Gangetic largetooth flounder.

According to Dr. Anil Mohapatra, the discovery was confirmed through advanced DNA barcoding and phylogenetic analysis. He said Pseudorhombus arsius and Pseudorhombus bahudaensis diverged around 17 million years ago but appear almost identical in external morphology.

Researcher Suvendu Sekhar Mishra said the species was first found in the Bahuda estuary along the Odisha-Andhra border and later observed in Penthakata in Puri district. Scientists believe the species may be widespread across the Indo-Pacific region.

The research team included Smrutirekha Acharya, Rajesh Kumar Behera, Swarup Ranjan Mohanty, Dipanjan Ray, Seshadev Patra, Suvendu Sekhar Mishra, and Anil Mohapatra.

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