New record of two Combtooth blennies, Omobranchus zebra (Bleeker 1868) and Omobranchus smithi (Rao 1974) (Blenniiformes: Blenniidae) from West Bengal, India with a key to species of Omobranchus from India
Priyankar CHAKRABORTY Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute of Environment Education and Research (BVIEER), Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Pune, India.
Kranti YARDI Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute of Environment Education and Research (BVIEER), Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Pune, India.
Pradhyuman SINDHA Voluntary Nature Conservancy, Anand, Gujarat, India
Abstract
Herein, we recorded Omobranchus zebra and O. smithi for the first time from West Bengal, India based on six individuals of O. zebra (33.66–53.37 mm SL) and five individuals of O. smithi (35.76–49.82 mm SL) collected from the brackish waters of the mangrove islands in the Indian Sundarbans. Omobranchus zebra is characterized by having XII, 18–20 dorsal fin rays, II, 20–22 anal fin rays, and a conspicuous colour pattern on the head and body. Omobranchus smithi is distinguished by having XII, 18–19 dorsal fin rays, II, 21 anal fin rays, a conspicuous dark spot on the anterior portion of the dorsal fin membrane, a crescentic mark posterior to the dorsal part of the orbit along with a slender crest on the head of males.
