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In situ Observation of Scorpionfish in Seagrass Meadows of he Gulf of Mannar, India


Affiliations
1 ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi 682 018, India
 

The seagrass meadows of Sethukarai coast are unique in nature, housing high faunal diversity compared to other coastal areas. A rare live specimen of bandtail scorpionfish Scorpaenopsis neglecta was found near a burrow dug by an alpheid shrimp. Taxonomy, mor-phometric and meristic characters, adaptive, beha-vioural and colour-switching physiological camouflage trait of the S. neglecta are elaborated in this commu-nication. Visual in situ documentation of feeding ha-bits of scorpaenids and their preying behaviour, especially that of lionfish Pterois volitans preying on goby fish is presented. Mutualism exhibited by goby fish Amblyeleotris gymnocephala with the alpheid shrimp Alpheus rapax and the importance of habitat protection from anthropogenic activities are also dis-cussed.

Keywords

Camouflage, Mutualism, Scorpionfish, Sea-Grass Meadows, Underwater Survey.
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  • In situ Observation of Scorpionfish in Seagrass Meadows of he Gulf of Mannar, India

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Authors

R. Jeyabaskaran
ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi 682 018, India
S. Lavanya
ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi 682 018, India
Shelton Padua
ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi 682 018, India
V. Kripa
ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi 682 018, India

Abstract


The seagrass meadows of Sethukarai coast are unique in nature, housing high faunal diversity compared to other coastal areas. A rare live specimen of bandtail scorpionfish Scorpaenopsis neglecta was found near a burrow dug by an alpheid shrimp. Taxonomy, mor-phometric and meristic characters, adaptive, beha-vioural and colour-switching physiological camouflage trait of the S. neglecta are elaborated in this commu-nication. Visual in situ documentation of feeding ha-bits of scorpaenids and their preying behaviour, especially that of lionfish Pterois volitans preying on goby fish is presented. Mutualism exhibited by goby fish Amblyeleotris gymnocephala with the alpheid shrimp Alpheus rapax and the importance of habitat protection from anthropogenic activities are also dis-cussed.

Keywords


Camouflage, Mutualism, Scorpionfish, Sea-Grass Meadows, Underwater Survey.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv118%2Fi10%2F1615-1620