Bio- Diversity Species in News

Marine Species in News ------3 Pilot Whale ------3 Whale Shark ------3 Irrawaddy Dolphins ------3 Gangetic Dolphin ------4 Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin ------4 Indus River Dolphin ------4 Chinese Pink Dolphins------4 Zebrafish ------5 Schizothorax Sikusirumensis ------5 Hilsa Fish ------5 Band-tail Scorpionfish ------5 Chinese paddlefish ------6 Puntius Sanctus Fish ------6 Aenigmachanna Gollum ------6 Mahseer------7 Dugong ------8 Red Sea Turtles------8 Peacock Soft-shelled Turtle ------8 Kurma------10 Red-crowned roof turtle------11 Olive Ridley Turtles ------11 Travancore Tortoise ------11 Diego: The Giant Tortoise ------12 Sal Forest Tortoise ------12 Platypus ------12 Noctiluca Scintillans ------13 Malabar Gliding Frog ------13 Kalinga Frog ------13 Purple Frog ------13 Myristica Swamp Treefrog ------14 Indian Bullfrog------14

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Leptarma Biju ------14 Horseshoe Crab ------15 Abortelphusa Namdaphaensis ------15 Snake Eel ------15 Bathynomus Raksas ------15 Tetrastemma Freyae ------16

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Marine Species in News

Pilot Whale  Mass Pilot Whale Strandings was seen in Tasmania which is not common in this part of the world & of this scale are not uncommon either. However, exact reasons for stranding are unknown yet.  Pilot whales are so named because it was once believed that each observed group was navigated by a pilot or leader.  Their Latin name, Globicephala, means ‘round head’, which is one of the main identifying features of the species.  There are two species of pilot whales  The Short-finned pilot whales, which are mainly found in tropical and warm-temperate regions, and  The Long-finned pilot whales, which inhabit colder waters.  Both species are designated as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Whale Shark  A 14.9 ft.-long whale shark died at the coast near Sunapur in Odisha’s Ganjam district.  Scientific Name: Rhincodon typus.  Whale sharks are the largest shark and they feed on plankton and travel large distances to find enough food to sustain their huge size, and to reproduce.  Whale sharks are found in all the tropical oceans of the world.  Conservation Status  IUCN: Endangered  CITES: AppendixII  Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I  Threats:Oil & gas drilling, shipping lanes etc.

Irrawaddy Dolphins  Recently, Odisha Forest Department has sighted 146 endangered Irrawaddy dolphins in Chilika Lake.  Scientific Name: OrcaellaBrevirostris  They are oceanic dolphin found in brackish water near coasts, river mouths and estuaries in South and Southeast Asia.  There habitat extends from the Bay of Bengal to New Guinea and the Philippines.  They are found in three rivers namely The Irrawaddy (Myanmar), the Mahakam (Indonesian Borneo) and the Mekong.  They have a bulging forehead and short beak. They pop out their head out of the water to breathe followed by its back.  Conservation Status  IUCN: Endangered  CITES: AppendixI  The dolphin distribution in Chilika is considered to be the highest single lagoon population.  Threat: They had been under stress in Chilika lake due to unregulated boating by tourists as well as illegal prawn enclosures.

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Gangetic Dolphin  According to a census report prepared by Madhya Pradesh, dolphins’ number in Chambal River has been reduced by 13 % in four years.  It is India’s national aquatic animal and is popularly known as ‘Susu’.  Found in parts of the Ganges-Meghna-Brahmaputra and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.  They are distributed across seven states in India: Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.  Conservation Status  IUCN: Endangered  CITES: AppendixI  Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I

Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin  They prefer the shallow, near shore waters of countries in the Indian Ocean, ideally with a freshwater input.  They can be found not far from shore in the coastal waters of South Africa in the south, northwards around the coast of East Africa, throughout the Middle East, and the west coast of India  IUCN: Endangered

Indus River Dolphin  They can only be found in the lower parts of the Indus River in Pakistan and in River Beas, a tributary of the Indus River in Punjab, India.  They have adapted to life in the muddy river and are functionally blind.  The dolphin is the state aquatic animal of Punjab.  IUCN Status: Endangered

Chinese Pink Dolphins

According to recent observations Chinese pink dolphins are making a comeback in the Pearl river estuary, one of the most heavily industrialised areas on Earth.  Scientific Name: Sousa Chinensis.  Coastal waters of the eastern Indian and western Pacific Oceans.  This species is often referred to as the Chinese white/pink dolphin in China (including Macao), Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore as a common name.  The World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) has seen a decline in their numbers in the past 15 years by 70-80%.  Dolphins use echolocation to find their way in the water. Echolocation is a technique used by bats, dolphins and other animals to determine the location of objects using reflected sound. This allows the animals to move around in pitch darkness, so they can navigate, hunt, identify friends and enemies, and avoid obstacles.  Threats: Agricultural, industrial, and urban pollution; Overfishing; Marine construction; Transport; Selling into captivity at marine entertainment parks and aquariums.  Conservation Status  IUCN: Vulnerable  Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule IV

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Zebrafish  Scientists at Pune-based Agharkar Research Institute have used the Zebrafish as a research model and identified genes that can promote heart regeneration.  Scientific name: Danio rerio.  Zebrafish- a tiny freshwater fish barely 2-3 cm long can efficiently regenerate its damaged heart within a short time period.  It is a popular aquarium fish, frequently sold under the trade name Danio.  Zebrafish is found in the tropical and subtropical regions. The fish is native to South Asia’s IndoGangetic plains, where they are mostly found in the paddy fields and even in stagnant water and streams.  Conservation Status: IUCN: Least Concern

SchizothoraxSikusirumensis  A new species of fish has been discovered in Arunachal Pradesh. The fish species is named as Schizothoraxsikusirumensis.  The fish species belongs to genus Schizothorax.  The name of this fish species has been derived from the name of the rivers where it was found.  This fish was collected from the junction of River Siku and Sirum near Gakang area under Mebo circle of East Siang District.  The fish inhabits the water-logged area of torrential river drainage.

Hilsa Fish  Fishermen in West Bengal are in for a pleasant surprise amid the COVID-19 gloom as they have exuded hope of a bumper yield of Hilsa, known as “maacher rani” (queen of fish).  The Hilsa is a species of fish related to the herring, in the family Clupeidae.  It is a very popular and sought-after food fish in the Indian Subcontinent.  It is the national fish of Bangladesh and state symbol in the Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura.  Though it’s a saltwater fish, it migrates to sweet waters of the Ganges from the Bay of Bengal.  It travels upstream of the river during themating seasons and returns to its natural abode after spawning.  Conservation Status  IUCN: Least Concerned

Band-tail Scorpionfish  Recently, researchers at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) have found a rare Scorpionfish from Sethukarai coast in the Gulf of Mannar. This was the first time that the particular species was found alive in Indian waters.  Scientific name: Scorpaenospsisneglecta.  The band-tail scorpionfish (Scorpaenospsisneglecta) camouflages within the seagrass meadows.  It is well-known for its stinging venomous spines and ability to change colour.  The fish has the ability to change colour and blend with its surrounding environment to escape from predators and while preying.  The fish is called ‘scorpionfish’ because its spines contain neurotoxic venom.

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Chinese paddlefish  Psephurus gladius, a Chinese paddlefish living in the Yangtze River (Asia's longest river), was declared extinct.  Psephurus gladius was about 2 to 3 meters long, and could grow longer than 7 meters.  The fish had existed for 15 million years.  The Chinese paddlefish had also been on the critically endangered list since 1996.  It was the largest freshwater fish in China might have gone extinct between 2005 and 2010.  Experts from the International Union for Conservation of Nature estimated that this unique and first-class protected fish had been extinct already.  Two other notable Yangtze species reeves shad, a type of fish and the baiji, or Yangtze River dolphin were declared 'functionally extinct' in 2015 and 2006 respectively.  From Jan 1, 2020, China began a 10-year fishing ban on key areas of the Yangtze River to protect biodiversity in the country's longest river.

Puntius Sanctus Fish  Velankanni in Tamil Nadu has thrown up a new species of small freshwater fish.  It is a new species of small freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae.  The silver-hued fish has been named Puntius Sanctus- ‘Sanctus’ is Latin for holy- after the popular pilgrim town.  The Puntius species are known locally as ‘Paral’ in Kerala and ‘Kende’ in Tamil Nadu.  The species is small in size and grows to a length of 7 cm, it bears lateral line scales and pre-dorsal scales.  It found to use both as food and as an aquarium draw.  Physical characteristics included a protractible mouth, a pair of maxillary barbels (a sensory organ near the snout), 24-25 lateral line scales and 10 pre-dorsal scales.  They are purely freshwater fishes.

Aenigmachanna Gollum  A 100 million-year-old fish has been discovered in Kerala which is named after the dark and conflicted character of JRR Tolkien’s epic saga movie ‘Lord of the Rings’.  It belongs to an old family of fish, called dragon snakeheads, which retains its primitive characteristics after all these millennia.  It is endemic to the Indian state of Kerala.  It looks like a dragon, swims like an eel, and has remained hidden for a hundred million years.  The closest relative of the family Aenigmachannidae is the Channidae, of which at least 50 species can be found in the streams and lakes of Asia and tropical Africa.  Aenigmachanna is a Gondwanan lineage, which has survived break-up of the supercontinent, with India separating from Africa at around 120 million years ago.  Unlike the Channidae, the Aenigmachannidae lack the suprabranchial organ that allows the former to breathe air and proliferate widely.  The researchers say that the area where Aenigmachanna was collected is part of the Western Ghats i.e. Sri Lanka Hotspot, which is among the richest biodiversity hotspots in the world.  Aenigmachannamahabali is a sister species of the Aenigmachanna Gollum.

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Mahseer

 Recently, a team of researchers from the Department of Zoology, Andhra University have sighted and fished out a rare fish 'Mahseer' from the upper part of Sileru river.  It is a rare fish having its scientific name as 'Tor'.  It is normally found in the Himalayan region in the rivers running through the cooler climes of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Nepal and Bhutan.  Golden Mahseer is a species of a rare Mahseer fish which is found in the Himalayan region, where the temperature around year does not exceed 20° Celsius.  In the Godavari River there are about 135 recorded fish species and the Grey Mahseer is one of them.  Conservation Status: IUCN: Endangered

Dugong  The dugong, commonly known as the sea cow, is fighting for its survival in Indian waters experts have said on the eve of ‘World Dugong Day’ on May 28, 2020.  Dugongs are mammals, which means they give birth to live young and then produce milk and nurse them.  It is the flagship animal of Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park.  The dugong is the only strictly herbivorous marine mammal.  It is a species of sea cow found throughout the warm latitudes of the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.  According to a 2013 survey report of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), there were only about 200 dugongs in the Gulf of Mannar in Tamil Nadu, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat.  Conservation Status  IUCN: Vulnerable  Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I

Red Sea Turtles  Turtle populations in the Red Sea could be turning overwhelmingly female because of a rise in sea temperatures caused due to anthropogenic climate change, a new study has showed.  There are seven extant species worldwide, five of which can be found in the Red Sea: the green turtle, the hawksbill turtle, the loggerhead turtle, the olive ridley turtle and the leatherback turtle.  In order to maintain a 50:50 ratio of male and female in the population, a temperature of 29.2 degrees Celsius is pivotal.  Above this, hatchlings would be predominantly female.  The sand temperatures at four of the sites exceeded 29.2 degrees; leading the team to the conclusion that ‘feminization’ of the population could be already happening.  Marine turtles- as all top predators- have a prominent role in maintaining balanced and healthy ecosystems, in particular seagrass beds and coral reefs.  They also help in transporting nutrients towards naturally nutrient-poor ecosystems, and providing food and transportation for other marine species (e.g., barnacles and commensal crabs).  Marine turtles also play an important role in the economy of the tourism industry.

Peacock Soft-shelled Turtle

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 Recently, Peacock soft-shelled turtle (a turtle of a vulnerable species) has been rescued from a fish market in Assam’s Silchar.  Scientific Name: Nilssoniahurum& Belongs to the family Trionychidae.  They are generally omnivorous (predominantly carnivorous) and nocturnal.  They have a large head, downturned snout with low and oval carapace of dark olive green to nearly black, sometimes with a yellow rim.  This species is confined to India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.  In India, it is widespread in the northern and central parts of the Indian subcontinent.  These are found in rivers, streams, lakes and ponds with mud or sand bottoms.  Conservation Status  IUCN: Vulnerable  CITES: Appendix I  Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I  Threats: The species is heavily exploited for its meat and calipee (the outer cartilaginous rim of the shell).

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Kurma  Recently number of conservation agencies launched a mobile-based application called KURMA, aimed at turtle conservation.

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 The Indian Turtle Conservation Action Network (ITCAN) in collaboration with the Turtle Survival Alliance-India and Wildlife Conservation Society-India.  It providesusers a database to identify a species and also provides the location of the nearest rescue center for turtles across the country.  It has a built-in digital field guidecovering29 species of freshwater turtles and tortoises of India.  It has information on turtle identification, distribution, vernacular names, and threats.  If anyone reports a turtle from any part of the country using KURMA, he or she receives advice about the species and its conservation.

Red-crowned roof turtle  Red-crowned roof turtle has been brought at Madras Crocodile Bank Trust.  It is also known as Bengal roof turtle, Red-crowned roofed turtle.  It is one of the 24 species endemic to India, is characterised by the bright colours such as red, yellow, white and blue on the faces and necks of the males.  Red-Crowned Roofed Turtle is a freshwater turtle species found in deep flowing rivers with terrestrial nesting sites and native to India, Bangladesh and Nepal.  The National Chambal River Gharial Sanctuary is the only area with a substantial population of the species, but even this Protected Area and habitat are under threat.  Conservation Status  IUCN: Critically Endangered  CITES: AppendixII  Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I

Olive Ridley Turtles  Scientific Name: Lepidochelysolivacea.  The Olive ridley turtles are the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world.  It inhabits warm waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.  These turtles, along with their cousin the Kemps ridley turtle, are best known for their unique mass nesting called Arribada, where thousands of females come together on the same beach to lay eggs.  The coast of Odisha in India is the largest mass nesting site for the Olive-ridley turtles followed by the coasts of Mexico and Costa Rica.  Rushikulyarookeryis a major nesting site for the Olive Ridleys along the Indian coast.  Conservation Status  IUCN: Vulnerable  CITES: AppendixI  Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I  Threats: Olive-ridleys face serious threats across their migratory route, habitat and nesting beaches, due to human activities such as turtle unfriendly fishing practices, development and exploitation of nesting beaches for ports, and tourist centres.

Travancore Tortoise  The Travancore tortoise is a large forest tortoise growing up to 330 millimetres (13 in) in length.

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 Distribution: Restricted to the Western Ghats, in the Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.  Conservation Status  IUCN: Vulnerable  Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule IV

Diego: The Giant Tortoise  The Galapagos National Park called off the Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative (GTRI), a captive breeding programme of the National Park as the tortoise population has gone up from 15 to 2,000.  Diego joined the breeding programme in 1976.  A member of the Chelonoidishoodensis, or the giant tortoise species.  Diego has a “long leathery neck, dull-yellow face and beady eyes”.  Fully stretched out, he extends to about five feet and weighs about 176 pounds.  The long neck is critical for his species’ survival, helping the tortoises crane their neck to feed on cacti.  It is distributed to seven of the Galápagos Islands, part of Ecuador, located about 1,000 km west of the Ecuadorian mainland.  It has an average life span of in the wild is over 100 years.  Conservation Status  IUCN: Critically Endangered  CITES: Appendix I

Sal Forest Tortoise  Over 90% of the potential distribution of the Sal forest tortoise falls outside current protected area’s network.  Scientific name: Indotestudo elongate& Common name: Elongated tortoise, Yellow Tortoise and Sal forest tortoise.  It is a species of tortoise found in Southeast Asia and parts of the Indian Subcontinent, particularly Northeast India.  These up to 1-footlong tortoises have elongated somewhat narrow carapaces and yellow heads. Shells are typically a pale tannish-yellow to caramel color, with blotches of black.  It is heavily hunted for food and collected both for local use, such as decorative masks, and international wildlife trade. In china, a mixture, made by grinding up the tortoise's shell, also serves as an aphrodisiac.  Conservation Status  IUCN: Critically Endangered [the population of the species may have fallen by about 80% in the last three generations (90 years)]  Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule IV

Platypus  Scientific Name: Ornithorhynchusanatinus  A study shows, devastating drought and other effects of climate change are pushing the duck-billed platypus towards extinction.  The platypus is the sole living representative of its family, and genus, though several related species appear in the fossil record.  It is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young.  A lot is not known about their distribution or abundance because of the species’ secretive and nocturnal nature.

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 They were once considered widespread across the eastern Australian mainland and Tasmania.  But the platypus remains unlisted in most jurisdictions in Australia- except South Australia- where it is endangered.  Its habitat is Wetlands (Inland).  Conservation Status:  IUCN Red List status: Near Threatened

Noctiluca Scintillans  The blooms of Noctiluca Scintillans, commonly known as “sea sparkle” are being witnessed along the coasts of Maharashtra and Karnataka.  Scintillans is a bioluminescent specie that brightens the seawater during the night.  It grazes on other micro-organisms such as larvae, fish eggs, and diatoms. But the unicellular phytoplankton that lives inside it can photosynthesize, turning sunlight into energy.  They help their host cell survive even when food was scarce. Thus, N. Scintillans acts as both a plant and an animal.  The toxic bloom of Noctiluca Scintillans was linked to massive fish and marine invertebrate kills and has displaced microscopic algae called diatoms which form the basis of the marine food chain. However, Thespecies does not produce a toxin. But it was found to accumulate toxic levels of ammonia which is then excreted into the surrounding waters possibly acting as the killing agent in blooms.

Malabar Gliding Frog  Recently, a rare amphibian, Malabar Gliding Frog (Rhacophorus malabaricus) was spotted in Pullad, Kerala.  Scientific name: Rhacophorus malabaricus.  It is endemic to the rain forests of Western Ghats.  It is a green frog with slender body, webbed feet, unusual body positions, very well camouflaged and gliding in the air. Males are smaller than females.  Conservation Status: IUCN: Least Concern  Threats: The Malabar gliding frog population is declining due to deforestation, climate change, developmental activities, and toxic chemicals.

Kalinga Frog  Recently, Indian scientists from the Zoological Survey of India, Pune have reported a first-of-its-kind discovery of morphological phenotypic plasticity (MPP) in the Kalinga cricket frog.  Scientific Name: Fejervaryakalinga.  It is a recently identified species which was documented in 2018.  It was thought to be endemic to the hill ranges of the Eastern Ghats. But now, researchers have reported the Kalinga cricket frog from the central Western Ghats, with the evidence of considerable ‘morphological phenotypic plasticity (MPP)’  Cricket frogs are indicators of a healthy ecosystem and live in wide habitat ranges in agricultural fields, streams, swamps and wetlands.  What is Morphological phenotypic plasticity?: MPP is the ability of an organism to show drastic morphological (physical features) variations in response to natural environmental variations or stimuli.

Purple Frog

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 Recently, a senior forest officer has said that the proposal for declaring the purple frog as Kerala’s official amphibian, is in the active consideration of the state government.  Scientific Name: Nasikabatrachussahyadrensis& Common Name: It is also known as Purple Frog, Maveli frog or Pignose Frog.  The purple frog is a frog species belonging to the family Sooglossidae.  Its body appears robust and bloated and is relatively rounded compared to other flattened frogs. Compared to other frogs, N. sahyadrensis has a small head and an unusual pointed snout; Adults are typically dark purplish-grey in color; It lives almost its entire life in underground tunnels, comes out to the surface for a single day in a year to breed.  Earlier thought to be restricted to the south of the Palghat Gap in the Western Ghats, the species is now known to be quite widely distributed in the Western Ghats.  Herpetologists believe that the species should be rightly called a ‘living fossil’ as it’s evolutionary roots suggest it could have shared space with dinosaurs going back almost 70 million years ago.  Conservation Status: IUCN: Endangered

Myristica Swamp Treefrog  Myristicaswamp treefrog, has been recorded for the first time in the Vazhachal Reserve Forest in Kerala’s Thrissur district.  Scientific name: Mercuranamyristicapalustris.  These are endemic to the Western Ghats.  These frogs are rare and elusive for the reason that they are arboreal and active only for a few weeks during their breeding season.  Have a Unique Breeding Behaviour- The breeding season, unlike for other frogs, starts in the pre monsoon season (May) and ends before the monsoon becomes fully active in June. Before the end of the breeding season, the female frogs along with their male counterparts descend on the forest floor. The female digs the mud and lays eggs in shallow burrows in mud. After breeding and egg laying, they retreat back to the high canopies of the tree and remain elusive till the next breeding season.

Indian Bullfrog  Scientific name: Hoplobatrachustigerinus.  It is endemic toSouth and South-East Asia.  It is the largest frog found in the Indian Subcontinent.  They often engage in cannibalism by feeding on smaller individuals of their own kind and on other frogs.  Its loud croaking call, attracts the opposite sex, but also predators.  Conservation Status  IUCN: Least Concern  Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule IV

Leptarma Biju  Recently, the researchers from the National University of Singapore and the Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, University of Kerala, have reported a new species called Leptarma Biju.  It is a new species of tree-spider crab from a mangrove forest in Kasaragod, Kerala.  The new species is named Leptarma Biju after A. Biju Kumar who is the head

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of Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, University of Kerala.  It the first report of the genus Leptarma from India.  Its characteristic features are its long ambulatory legs and short and hook-like dactylus that have adapted the crustacean for tree-climbing.

Horseshoe Crab  Horseshoe crabs face an uncertain future in Odisha, their largest habitat in India, even as the world gets ready to celebrate the first-ever ‘International Horseshoe Crab Day’ on June 20, 2020.  Horseshoe crabs are marine and brackish water arthropods. They are not true crabs, which are crustaceans.  The crabs are represented by four extant species in the world. Out of the four, two species are distributed along the northeast coast of India.  Only T gigas species of the horseshoe crab is found along Balasore coast of Odisha.  The horseshoe crab is one of the oldest marine living fossils whose origin date back to 445 million years before the dinosaurs existed.  One of their ecological functions is to lay millions of eggs on beaches to feed shorebirds, fish and other wildlife.  Conservation Status: Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule IV

AbortelphusaNamdaphaensis  It is a newly discovered freshwater species of crab on the edge of a small stream in Namdapha Tiger Reserve.  The genus (Abortelphusa) is named after the Abor Hills, the species (Namdaphaensis) is named after Namdapha.  Of the 125 freshwater crabs in India, the north-east accounts for 37. Arunachal Pradesh has 15 and Assam has 21.

Snake Eel  A new snake eel species residing in the Bay of Bengal has been discovered by the Estuarine Biology Regional Centre (EBRC) at Gopalpur in Odisha.  The new marine species has been named as Ophichthuskailashchandraito honour the vast contributions of Dr Kailash Chandra (Director of Zoological Survey of India) to Indian animal taxonomy.  It is the eighth species of the Ophichthus genus found on the Indian coast.  It lives at a depth of around 50 metres in the sea.  It is 420 mm to 462 mm in length and light brown in colour, with white fins. The outer surface of their bodies is slimy but they are not poisonous.  Their teeth are moderately elongated, conical and sharp and thus they feed on small fish and crabs.

BathynomusRaksas  Recently, scientists have reported the discovery of the first super giant isopod species in the eastern Indian Ocean named ‘Bathynomusraksasa’.  The Bathynomusraksasa is a giant isopod in the genus Bathynomus.

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 The giant isopods are distantly related to crabs, lobsters, and shrimps (which belong to the order of decapods), and are found in the cold depths of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans.  The “cockroach of the sea” has 14 legs. It measures around 50 centimetres (1.6 feet) in length, which is big for isopods, which normally do not grow beyond 33 cm (just over a foot). Isopods that reach 50 cm are referred to as supergiant’s.  The only member of the isopod species that exceeds the raksasa in size is the Bathynomusgiganteus, which is commonly found in the deep waters of the western Atlantic Ocean.  It is the first 'supergiant' isopod species to be discovered in the eastern Indian Ocean. The discovery takes the number of known giant isopods to 20.

TetrastemmaFreyae  Recently, researchers have identified a new species of marine invertebrate i.e. 'TetrastemmaFreyae', found along the coast of Tamil Nadu.  It feeds on dead and decaying material and helps to recycle nutrients in coastal and deep-water sediments.  It is associated with sediments and is predatory as it has a role in maintaining the food chain.  It uses its proboscis, similar to a butterfly which does to collect nectar.  It has neurotoxins in its proboscis which could lead to developing drugs.

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