An ongoing study on deep-sea crustaceans off the Indian coast has led to the discoveries of a previously unknown family, two new genera, and four new species of millimetre-sized crustacean parasites that infest fishes and other marine life forms.
The Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, University of Kerala, which is performing the biodiversity study in collaboration with the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore, described the discoveries as “groundbreaking.”
Researchers have named the new family Uranoscopicolaidae, as this parasitic copepod was found to live off the Dollfus’ Stargazer (Uranoscopus guttatus), a fish dwelling in depths ranging from 300-550 m off the southwest Indian coast. This is also the first discovery and description of a new crustacean family from India, they said.
