(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) The Marine Science and Fisheries Centre (MSFC), affiliated to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MoAF), recently identified a new species of parrotfish.
The fish was caught by an Omani fisherman by a gill net at a depth of 12m adjacent to Ras al Shajar in Quriyat. This species, scientifically called Iniistius pavo and commonly known as peacock wrasse, belongs to the Labridae family and has an almost vertical head, broad lines on the body and black spots on dorsal fins.
Dr Juma al Mamaari, biology expert at MSFC, who helped identify the species, said that this was the first sighting of Iniistius pavo in Omani waters. ''We carry out regular inspections of landing sites. This strange looking fish was found and brought to MSFC for further study. Its morphometric characters were established which matched that of peacock wrasse,'' he said.
He added a scientific paper will be published soon that will mention the existence of the fish found for the first time in the sultanate's waters. The parrotfish is distributed across Chagos, Kenya, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa and lately Lakshadweep. Most species (82 per cent) are found in the Indo-Pacific region, with Australia having the largest Labrid fish fauna (about 33 per cent of the species and 70 per cent of the genera).
This species is found usually solitary in lagoon and seaward reef areas with fine to loose, coarse sand bottoms at depths of 7m-30m. The present specimen, weighing 1.3kg and measuring 41cm in length, was first observed in Fins in Quriyat on January 8 this year.
Interestingly, almost a year back on January 5, 2013, the species was also reported for the first time in India from the state of Gujarat.
Dr Abdulaziz al Marzouqi, director, MSFC, said that the discovery strengthens the richness of biodiversity in Oman. ''Under our biodiversity programme, we take great efforts to monitor the landing of fish at fishing harbours and other landing sites to discover and register new species. And this latest find is proof of that,'' he said.
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