TEHRAN – A research team from Tarbiat Modares University has discovered a new species of slagid fish and named it S. persica after its typical locality in the Persian Gulf.
The team, consisting of Hashem Khandan Barani, Mohammad Sadegh Alavi Yeganeh, and Mehdi Gambarifaldi, obtained the newly described species directly from local fishermen and through fisheries surveys conducted along the coast of the city of Bushehr in Iran’s northern Persian Gulf.
Currently, 39 valid species are recognized in the Sillaginidae family. Five of these species have been recorded in the northern coast of Iran’s Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman: S. shihama, S. arabica, S. atenuata, S. indica, and Sillaginopodys Chondropus.
Sillago persica is a new species distinct from S. Siama. The description of this new Silago species from the northern Persian Gulf off the coast of Iran highlights the need for further investigation into its ecology, distribution, and abundance patterns. The researchers said in an article published in ZooKeys that such information is essential for the effective implementation of management practices and conservation of ecologically and economically important silaginids in this region.
The holotype and paratype specimens have been deposited in the Aquatic Fauna Collection, Department of Marine Biology, Tarbiat Modares University, Nur, Iran (TAC1245F).
MT/MG