FISHERIES & AQUATIC LIFE (2021) 29: 158 - 163

Archives of Polish Fisheries

DOI 10.2478/aopf-2021-0017
RESEARCH ARTICLE

First record of six marine fish species caught occasionally in the

northern Arabian Sea in Pakistan

Wajiha Shaikh, Sher Khan Panhwar

Received – 09 April 2021Accepted – 05 September 2021 Published online: 30 September 2021; ©Inland Fisheries Institute in Olsztyn, Poland
Citation: Shaikh, W., Panhwar S. K. (2021). First record of six marine fish species caught occasionally in the northern Arabian Sea in
Pakistan. Fisheries & Aquatic Life 29: 158-163.

Abstract. The present article presents the results of a recent rarely in routine catches at major fish landing sites
independent fishery survey conducted in the northern Ara- and are not included in the recent FAO fish species
bian Sea off the coast of Pakistan in 2016–2018. The survey catalog. That the six species of Ambassis natalensis
confirmed the underreported occurrence of six fish species
Gilchrist and Thompson, Pomadasys striatus
that are now included in the ichthyofauna diversity of Paki-
stan: Ambassis natalensis, Pomadasys striatus, Narcine (Gilchrist and Thompson), Narcine oculifera
oculifera, Paramonacanthus choirocephalus, Paramona- Carvalho, Compagno and Mee, Paramonacanthus
canthus tricuspis, Chromis westaustralis. The fishes were col- choirocephalus (Bleeker), Paramonacanthus
lected with demersal trawls operated at the depth of 165 m tricuspis (Hollard) and Chromis westaustralis Allen
(90 fathoms), and the taxonomy, habitat, and distribution were not documented might have been because they
range of each of the species were carefully examined and veri-
occur rarely in commercial catches. This report pro-
fied with information available in Eschmyer’s fish catalog,
Fishbase, WoRMS, and FAO. It is necessary to update the ma- vides the distribution range of each of them and
rine ichthyofauna record of Pakistan with the detailed taxo- otolith descriptions for some of them. The purpose of
nomic descriptions of each species and their distribution this study was to update the fish species checklist of
ranges. Pakistan and to report the first information regarding
the underreported presence of these six species from
Keywords: New records, distribution range, rare fishes,
five families in Pakistan.
Pakistan.

Study area
Introduction
The specimens were collected from different inde-
Pakistan is a subtropical region with a variety of pendent fishery surveys conducted along the coast of
coastal, estuarine, and marine fish species (Peter the northern Arabian Sea of Pakistan in 2016–2018.
1999). This article lists species that are identified

W. Shaikh, S.K. Panhwar [+] Methodology

Centre of Excellence in Marine Biology, University of Karachi-75270,
Sindh, Pakistan The specimens were collected with demersal trawls
E-mail: [email protected]
during four different monsoons seasons.

© Copyright by Stanis³aw Sakowicz Inland Fisheries Institute in Olsztyn.

© 2021 Author(s). This is an open access article licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
159 Wajiha Shaikh, Sher Khan Panhwar

Immediately after landing, the fish specimens were seen (Martin and Heemstra 1988). It is widespread
placed on ice in boxes and transported to the fisher- throughout the shallow waters of the Indo-Pacific re-
ies laboratory at the Centre of Excellence in Marine gion, while some species of this family ascend estuar-
Biology, University of Karachi, for analysis. Visual ies in certain periods, others are known to inhabit only
identification was done using fishbase.com (Froese freshwater habitats.
and Pauly 2021), morphological analysis was con-
ducted with FAO survey guides (Bianchi 1985, Family Pomacentridae
Psomadakis 2015, Last et al. 2016), and taxonomy
West Australian chromis, Chromis westaustralis
was confirmed with the online Eschmeyer catalog of
Allen, 1976
fishes (Fricke et al. 2021) and the World Register of
Marine Species (WoRMS Editorial Board 2021). Distribution: Previously not reported in Pakistan,
Morphometric measurements and meristic counts but native to Asia, Eastern Indian Ocean, Western
were conducted according to standard methods and Australia.
recorded in centimeters (cm). Fin-ray counts fol-
Habitat: Marine, tropical; depth range 2–75 m.
lowed the method in Fricke (1983).
Description: (N=1), Standard length 5.5 cm; body
depth 2 cm; 13 dorsal spines; 11–12 dorsal soft rays;
13 pectoral fin rays; 6 ventral fin rays; 2 anal spines;
Results
11 anal soft rays; large, dark brown scales on body;
suborbital area covered with scales; teeth biserial;
Order Perciformes dark blotch at pectoral fin base; forked caudal fin;
yellow dorsal soft rays and caudal fins; all other fins
Family Ambassidae dark brown to black (Fig. 2).

Slender glassy, Ambassis natalensis Gilchrist Otolith description: Elliptical otolith with convex
and Thompson, 1908 medial and slightly concave lateral faces; dorsal mar-
gins slightly sinuate with a notch at one end and deep
Habitat: Marine, freshwater, demersal, benthic, central groove; ventral margins strongly serrate.
subtropical.
IUCN Status: Not Evaluated.
Distribution: New records from Pakistan; native of Remarks: There are no previous reports of this
Western Indian Ocean, East Africa, South Africa species in Pakistan; however, details of its otolith
(Gilchrist and Thompson 1908). shape and an image of it are available.
Description: (N=1), Standard length 7.8 cm; body
depth 4 cm; 8 dorsal spines;10 dorsal soft rays;
8–10 pectoral fin rays; 6 ventral fin rays; 3 anal
spines; 10 anal soft rays; caudal fin sharply
forked; body completely transparent; first two
dorsal spines with slightly black margins; small
scales present over entire body; lateral line
highlighted in silver (Fig. 1).
IUCN Status: Least Concern.
Remarks: The pre-opercular spine,
predorsal scales, and teeth on the vomer and
palatines are the key identification characters of
Figure 1. Ambassis natalensis.
this species and further taxonomic details are
 First record of six marine fish species caught occasionally in the northern Arabian Sea in Pakistan 160

Order Torpediniformes

Family Narcinidae

Big eye numb fish, Narcine oculifera

Carvalho, Compagno and Mee, 2002
Habitat: Marine, demersal, benthic; depth
range to 25 m.
Distribution: New record in Pakistan outside
the Western Indian Ocean, Gulf of Oman,
Gulf of Aden (rarely caught species).
Description: (N=10); average length 20 cm; Figure 2. Chromis westaustralis.
heart shaped disc overlapping pelvic fin; disc
length shorter than tail length; reticulation a
clearly visible on disc; head not swollen above
disc; bulging eyes adjacent to spiracles; nos-
trils divided into two separate openings by stiff
integument at mid length; teeth with small lat-
eral cusplets totally hidden within mouth;
snout rounded; pelvic fins usually short,
united, forming apron on posterior side; first
dorsal fin vertically straight with round apex;
second dorsal fin tilted with narrow apex usu-
ally shorter than first dorsal fin; caudal fin
with marginal slope at tip; color uniformly
brown or dusky brown dorsally; ventral side, b
margins of dorsal, pelvic, and caudal fins
creamy whitish (Fig. 3a, 3b).
IUCN Status: Data deficient.
Remarks: This species inhabits deeper
waters below continental shelves (Carvalho et
al. 2002); therefore, it is rarely caught by ac-
tive fishing gears. This is the first record of this
species is in Pakistan.

Order Tetraodontiforme Figure 3. Narcine oculifera, a - dorsal view, b - ventral view.

Philippines, Indonesia) and Oceania (Australia, New

Family Monocanthidae
Guinea).
Pig faced leather jacket, Paramonacanthus
Habitat: Tropical, marine, demersal; known depth
choirocephalus (Bleeker, 1851)
range 3–25 m; inhabits coastal reefs, found in muddy
Distribution: Not reported in Pakistan, native to and sandy substrates (Kuiter and Tonozuka 2001,
Asia (Thailand, UAE, India, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Allen and Erdmann 2012).
161 Wajiha Shaikh, Sher Khan Panhwar

Description: (N=2); standard length 8.5–10

cm; body depth 4 cm; 1 dorsal spine starting
just behind the eye; 25 second dorsal soft
rays; 10 pectoral fin rays; ventral fin small, ru-
dimentary but mobile and concave; pelvic flap
moderately extendable; 12 truncated caudal
fins with 2–3 black stripes and long filament
originating at first ray; 28 soft anal rays; eyes
with dusky brown blotches; body with some
brown patches throughout dorsal to pectoral
fins, brown patch from caudal to ventral fins;
body profile elongated and compressed with Figure 4. Paramonacanthus choirocephalus.
straight snout (Fig. 4).
body depth 4 cm; 2 dorsal spines (one minute) origi-
IUCN Status: Not evaluated.
nating just behind eye; 27 second dorsal soft rays; 12
Remarks: This fish inhabits shallow waters. It is ca- pectoral fin rays; ventral fin small and rudimentary
pable of camouflage, and its body shape permits it to but mobile; pelvic flap moderately extendable; 27
move vertically. This species was previously un- anal soft rays; two dusky, truncated bands on caudal
known in Pakistan. fins; incomplete stripes throughout body (Fig. 5).
Estuary filefish, Paramonacanthus tricuspis IUCN Status: Least Concern.
(Hollard, 1854) Remarks: Various counts and measurements
of this specimen confirm its identification as
Paramonacanthus tricuspis, which was previ-
ously not recorded in Pakistan.

Family Haemulidae

Striped grunter, Pomadasys

striatus (Gilchrist and Thompson, 1908)
Distribution: New record in Pakistan; native
to Southwestern Indian Ocean (Mozambique
and South Africa; Red Sea), and Gulf of Suez.
Habitat: Marine benthopelagic; known depth
range < 30 m (Smith and McKay 1986).
Description: (N=15); standard length
Figure 5. Paramonacanthus tricuspis. 16–8cm; body depth 9–13 cm; 12 spines at
Distribution: New record in Pakistan outside Asia first dorsal fin; 13–14 soft second dorsal rays;
(Thailand, Maldives, Philippines, India). 18 pectoral fin rays; 5 ventral fin rays; 3 Anal spines;
7 soft anal rays; 54 scales on lateral line; all fins, ex-
Habitat: Tropical, marine, demersal; inhabits depth cept anal, dusky grey; body silvery grey with three
range 10–50 m. (Allen and Erdmann 2012). dark longitudinal stripes originating from head to
Description: (N=1); standard length 6.5 cm; body caudal fin in middle of body; prominent lips with
profile deep and compressed with straight snout; small mouth (Fig. 6).
 First record of six marine fish species caught occasionally in the northern Arabian Sea in Pakistan 162

Pakistan. However, they might be of limited

fishery concern since the exploitation of these
rays is ambiguous. Although they can give
a strong shock when disturbed, they are other-
wise harmless to people. Nevertheless, some
of these species are exploited commercially,
whereas Paramonacanthus choirocephalus
and Paramonacanthmandus tricuspis are of
very low commercial value in Pakistan, while
in other countries, like Korea, they are con-
Figure 6. Pomadasys striatus.
sumed as a snack. Pomadasys striatus, which
is reported on fishbase.com in Pakistan with
Otolith description: Otolith shape oblong with limited information, is of high commercial
moderately medially convex and moderately concave value and is in demand at fish markets and is often
lateral faces; otolith margins thin and center thick; marketed as fresh, frozen, or dried salted.
dorsal margin sinuate in middle; ventral margin ir-
regular; superior and inferior crista well developed at
sulcus; ostium elongated broadly on posterior side Conclusion
and narrower on anterior side; ostium notch absent;
caudal flexion near posterior margin.
For the first time, these six fish species from five fam-
IUCN Status: Least Concern. ilies are reported and can be included in the
Remarks: This species is erroneously recorded ichthyofauna of Pakistan. This report also contrib-
in Pakistan in fishbase.com. However, details about utes to the latest knowledge of fisheries biology and
its otolith and a clear image of this species are in- the distribution ranges of these species.
cluded here. The lateral line scale count is a distin-
Acknowledgments. This research work was fully
guishing character of Pomadasys stridens.
funded by PAEC and as part of the PhD dissertation of
the first author.
Authors contribution. W.S. identified the fish species
Discussion and drafted the manuscript; S.K.P. helped conduct the
fishery surveys, supervised the research, and finalized
In this study we report six species inhabiting coastal the manuscript.
and deep water areas from different geographical re-
gions of Pakistan. Of the six species - Ambassis ORCID iD
Sher Khan Panhwar https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1442-5857
natalensis, Pomadasys striatus, Chromis
westaustralis, Narcine oculifera, Paramonacanthus
choirocephalus, Paramonacanthus tricuspis - five
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