BD new species of marine fish ‘Bangladeshias’ now on global list
DOT Desk:[2] Bangladesh has been included in the global list of marine fish through the identification of a new species of marine fish. Researchers have named the fish ‘Bangladeshias’ after the country and also called ‘Pettoli’ in the local language,reports Daily Bangladesh.
[3] Some animal researchers of the country found this new species of fish in the Bay of Bengal during the study on ‘Species Identification and Conservation of Coral Fish’. Later, this new species has been added to the list of marine fish in Bangladesh and the world.
[4] For the first time in the world, this species of marine fish have been discovered from St. Martin, the only coral island of the country.
[5] The species was identified using their physical structure, external shape, and DNA barcoding method. In keeping with the name of the country, the scientific name of the fish has been given ‘Pomacentras Bangladeshias’.
The species has been given the English name ‘Bengal Demoiselle’ as it is found in the Bay of Bengal and the fish has been given the Bengali name ‘Pettoli’ based on its acquaintance with the people of St. Martin.
So far, 422 species of damselfish have been identified in the world. This species of fish lives around the coral reef and breeds there. They are less than 15 cm in length, but some species can grow up to 30 cm in length. They are very clever and also aggressive. As they are colorful and below 14 inches, many of these species are used as aquarium pets.
The species ‘Pomacentras Bangladeshias’ was found in St. Martin’s during research on the identification and conservation status of coral fish species through DNA barcoding in the waters of Bangladesh.
A team of researchers from the Aquatic Bioresource Research Lab (ABR Lab) from Department of Fisheries Biology and Genetics in Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU) conducted the study for about two years since 2017 with funding from the Bangladesh Government and the World Bank and support from the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council.
The research team included Dr. Kazi Ahsan Habib, Dean of the Faculty of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Sciences and Professor of the Department of Fisheries Biology and Genetics of SAU, Md. Zaidul Islam, a ninth batch student of the Department of Zoology at Jagannath University, Amit Kumar Niyogee, a fifth batch student, and National University student Nazmun Nahar.
Their research article was published on October 3 in the international science journal Zootaxa.
About this, Professor Dr. Kazi Ahsan Habib said, “During biodiversity analysis in St. Martin, we saw some fish like coral fish. After collecting and keeping them in the laboratory for a long time, we didn’t find any similarity to any other fish even though using their physical structure, external shape and DNA barcoding method. That means the fish has not been found anywhere before. Later, we named the new fish after the country.”
He added that the fish should be taken care of by determining the “ecosystem boundary” on the only coral island in the country. Given the opportunity to use modern methods and equipment, it will be possible to gift the world with better research, said Professor Dr. Kazi Ahsan Habib.