Apterichtus kanniyakumari, a new species of finless snake eel (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae) from the Arabian Sea

Apterichtus kanniyakumari sp. nov., a new species of finless snake eel, is described based on two specimens collected from deep-sea trawl landings at the Colachel fish landing centre from the southwest coast of India. The new species is distinguished from its congeners by the following characteristics: head length 9.6–9.7% TL, tail length 1.8–1.9% TL, and body depth at gill openings 42.1–54.8% TL; 3 preopercular and 9 supratemporal pores, conical uniserial teeth on jaws and vomer; distinct golden-yellow body coloration, ventral side of head pale white with yellow lines along lower jaw, and three black blotches, one behind eyes followed by one in rictus and other behind origin of rictus and mean vertebral formula: 52-131.

Molecular analyses based on mitochondrial CO1 gene exhibits that this new species forms distinct clade with its sympatric species Apetrichtus nanjilnaduensis.