Indian Journal of Geo Marine Sciences Vol. 50 (01), January 2021, pp. 75-77 Short Communication Report of Antennarius hispidus sigmoid vertebral column4,5. Antennariids are well (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) known for their brilliant colors and textures and hence (Lophiiformes: Antennariidae) from the are widely used in the aquarium trade. northern Arabian Sea Materials and Methods Three specimens were collected by the exploratory M P Rajeeshkumar*, K V Aneesh Kumar, M Hashim, deep-sea fishery survey of FORV Sagar Sampada, N Saravanane & M Sudhakar (Cruise 372) conducted by the Centre for Marine Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE), Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE), Ministry of Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, Atal Bhavan, Earth Sciences, India. The specimens were collected LNG Road, Puthuvype, Kochi – 682 508, India using High-Speed Demersal Trawl Crustacean Version *[E-mail:
[email protected]] (HSDT-CV), operated off Okha (Gujarat), northern Received 26 April 2019; revised 14 October 2020 Arabian Sea at a speed of 2.5 knots at depths ranging from 72 to 100 m. The specimens were identified The present study reports Antennarius hispidus (Bloch & following Pietsch2 and Pietsch & Grobecker5. Schneider, 1801) from the northern Arabian Sea. Earlier reports mainly came from the east coast of India, however, the present Results specimens report the occurrence from northernmost part of the Arabian Sea, in the Indian EEZ (off Okha, Gujarat). The Order: Lophiiformes Rafinesque, 1810 description and the previous distributional records of Antennarius Family: Antennariidae Gill, 1863 hispidus from India are provided herewith. Genus: Antennarius Daudin, 1816 [Keywords: Antennariidae, Antennarius hispidus, Arabian Sea, Antennarius hispidus (Bloch and Schneider, 1801) Lophiiformes] (Fig.