Vol. 110 - Part III - Zoological Survey of India
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Vol. 110 - Part III - Zoological Survey of India

Vol. 110 - Part III - Zoological Survey of India Vol. 110 - Part III - Zoological Survey of India

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13.07.2015 Views

60 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaFig. 1 : Paramonacanthus japonicus.strong spine with invert serration of 8-10 small spines.The dorsal and anal fins were commencing from oppositepoint to each other and ended near to the caudal fin.Second dorsal and anal fins were modified as rays andended near to the rounded caudal fin. The snout waspiggy shaped and the eyes were distinct which is situatedjust below the first dorsal spine. Gill slits have very smallopening (Table-1). Upper jaw usally with three teeth inouter and two in the inner series on each premaxillary.The colour of the fish was observed to change duringrearing in captive condition (Fig. 2). The fishes becomefully dark black or faint, if any object come together. Thisis the peculiar adaptation of these fishes and because ofthis, the aquarist prefer these fishes.DISTRIBUTIONThe fishes are distributed widely in Bay of Bengal,East and west China, Great Barrier Reef, Gulf of Thailand,Hong Kong, Indian Ocean, Indonesian Sea, Indo-WestPacific, Southern Japan and North West Australia toPapua New Guinea, Malaysia, Taiwan and other partsof the world (http://www.zipcodezoo.com).Fig. 2 : Colour changing behaviour of Paramonacanthusjaponicus in the rearing tank.REMARKSMonacanthidae fishes are very common in coastaland reef waters of Indian and Western Pacific Ocean.Paramonacanthus japonicus was reported first timefrom the Gulf of Mannar region of Indian waters bySenthil Kumar (2001). This species inhabits the vicinityof reef environments, hide themselves among variousplants or attached with animals. It feeds on wide varietyof benthic invertebrates, corals or zooplankton (http://www.fishbase.com. A study conducted by Masuda etal. (1984) reported that the juveniles are some timemoving towards the seaweed and seagrass beds inshallow water region. The moderate salinity of theestuarine water and the abundance of coastalvegetation, particularly mangroves may be the possiblereason of this fish into the estuary.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTThe authors are thankful to the Dean of this centreand the authorities of Annamalai University forproviding facilities and the Ministry of Environmentand Forests, New Delhi for financial support.REFERENCESFishbase, 2008. A global information system on fishes. Available at http://www.fishbase.com/summary/speciessummary. ID = 7977Paramonacanthus japonicus.Masuda, H., Amaoka, K., Araga, C., Uyeno, T., Yoshino, T., 1984. The fishes of the Japanese Archipelago. Vol. 1(text). Tokai University Press, Tokyo, Japan. 437 p. (Text), 370 pls.Senthilkumar, R., 2001. Systematics, biochemical and toxinology of Tetradontid fishes (Pisces : Tetradontiformis)of Southeast coast of India. PhD thesis CAS in Marine Biology, Annamalai University, India. pp 139.Zipcodezoo.2008. http://www.zipcodezoo.com/animals/Paramonacanthus japonicus.

Rec. zool. Surv. India : 110(Part–3) : 61-76, 2010TAXONOMY AND SYSTEMATICS OF CORAL ASSOCIATED BRACHYURANCRABS IN GULF OF MANNAR MARINE BIOSPHERE RESERVEA. GOKUL 1 AND K. VENKATARAMAN 21Sunderban Regional CentreZoological Survey of India, Canning-743 329arunachalamgokul@gmail.com2Marine Biological StationZoological Survey of India, Chennai-600 028INTRODUCTIONIndian coral reefs are distributed along the entireeast and west coasts. The coral reefs acts as a homefor several faunal communities. Gulf of Mannar MarineBiosphere Reserve (GoMMBR) islands situated atsouth east coast of India are known for its rich coraldiversity (Venkataraman et al., 2003b, 2004).Crustaceans play a vital role in the symbioticassociation with the coral colonies. Studies have beendone on the crustacean cryptofaunal diversity andspecies richness in GoMMBR (Venkataraman et al.2002, 2003a; Nammalwar and Edwin, 2002; Kathirvel andGokul, 2006). However among the faunal diversity incoral reef areas, the crustaceans perform a bettersymbiotic association in coral reef ecosystem.According to Garth (1973) both obligatory andfacultative symbiotic crustaceans were associated withthe coral colonies. In spite of this it was reported thatcrustaceans were found to be associated more in thedense branched coral colonies covered with algae thanin the colonies having surplus mucus (Coles, 1980).Symbiotic brachyuran crabs were abundant inPocillopora coral colonies covered with algae.Jeyabaskaran (1997) reported the abundance of thebrachyuran crabs were more in the branching coralscomparatively.Various studies have been conducted on thetaxonomy of the crabs in India (Alcock, 1895, 1896,1898, 1899a, 1899b, 1900; Sankarankutty, 1967;Jeyabaskaran et al. 2000) as well as across the world(Guinot, 1971, 1976; Galil, 1988; Castro, 1999a, b, c).The present study emphasized 26 species ofbrachyuran crabs belonging to 10 genera and 8 families.Out of these 4 species are new to GoMMBR and 2species are new to India. The present study declaresthe brachyuran crabs along with the other faunalgroups were found to be associated more in thebranching corals particularly the Pocillopora coloniescovered with algae. Based on the previous studies andfor conservation aspects the crab collection wasrestricted to Pocillopora coral colonies covered withalgae in the islands of GoMMBR. Considering itstaxonomical and ecological importance the coral crabssymbiotically associated with Pocillopora coloniescovered with algae were studied in detail.SYSTEMATIC ACCOUNTPhylum ARTHROPODASuper class CRUSTACEASub class MALACOSTRACAOrder DECAPODAFamily PORTUNIDAE1. Portunus brockii (De Man)Plate-I, Fig.-a1887. Neptunus brockii De Man, Archiv f. Naturgesch, p.328.1976. Portunus (Monomia) brockii Sakai, Crabs of Japanand adjacent seas, p. 343.

Rec. zool. Surv. <strong>India</strong> : <strong>110</strong>(<strong>Part</strong>–3) : 61-76, 2010TAXONOMY AND SYSTEMATICS OF CORAL ASSOCIATED BRACHYURANCRABS IN GULF OF MANNAR MARINE BIOSPHERE RESERVEA. GOKUL 1 AND K. VENKATARAMAN 21Sunderban Regional Centre<strong>Zoological</strong> <strong>Survey</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>India</strong>, Canning-743 329arunachalamgokul@gmail.com2Marine Biological Station<strong>Zoological</strong> <strong>Survey</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>India</strong>, Chennai-600 028INTRODUCTION<strong>India</strong>n coral reefs are distributed along the entireeast and west coasts. The coral reefs acts as a homefor several faunal communities. Gulf <strong>of</strong> Mannar MarineBiosphere Reserve (GoMMBR) islands situated atsouth east coast <strong>of</strong> <strong>India</strong> are known for its rich coraldiversity (Venkataraman et al., 2003b, 2004).Crustaceans play a vital role in the symbioticassociation with the coral colonies. Studies have beendone on the crustacean crypt<strong>of</strong>aunal diversity andspecies richness in GoMMBR (Venkataraman et al.2002, 2003a; Nammalwar and Edwin, 2002; Kathirvel andGokul, 2006). However among the faunal diversity incoral reef areas, the crustaceans perform a bettersymbiotic association in coral reef ecosystem.According to Garth (1973) both obligatory andfacultative symbiotic crustaceans were associated withthe coral colonies. In spite <strong>of</strong> this it was reported thatcrustaceans were found to be associated more in thedense branched coral colonies covered with algae thanin the colonies having surplus mucus (Coles, 1980).Symbiotic brachyuran crabs were abundant inPocillopora coral colonies covered with algae.Jeyabaskaran (1997) reported the abundance <strong>of</strong> thebrachyuran crabs were more in the branching coralscomparatively.Various studies have been conducted on thetaxonomy <strong>of</strong> the crabs in <strong>India</strong> (Alcock, 1895, 1896,1898, 1899a, 1899b, 1900; Sankarankutty, 1967;Jeyabaskaran et al. 2000) as well as across the world(Guinot, 1971, 1976; Galil, 1988; Castro, 1999a, b, c).The present study emphasized 26 species <strong>of</strong>brachyuran crabs belonging to 10 genera and 8 families.Out <strong>of</strong> these 4 species are new to GoMMBR and 2species are new to <strong>India</strong>. The present study declaresthe brachyuran crabs along with the other faunalgroups were found to be associated more in thebranching corals particularly the Pocillopora coloniescovered with algae. Based on the previous studies andfor conservation aspects the crab collection wasrestricted to Pocillopora coral colonies covered withalgae in the islands <strong>of</strong> GoMMBR. Considering itstaxonomical and ecological importance the coral crabssymbiotically associated with Pocillopora coloniescovered with algae were studied in detail.SYSTEMATIC ACCOUNTPhylum ARTHROPODASuper class CRUSTACEASub class MALACOSTRACAOrder DECAPODAFamily PORTUNIDAE1. Portunus brockii (De Man)Plate-I, Fig.-a1887. Neptunus brockii De Man, Archiv f. Naturgesch, p.328.1976. Portunus (Monomia) brockii Sakai, Crabs <strong>of</strong> Japanand adjacent seas, p. 343.

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