Aurigequula longispina (Valenciennes, 1835)

Abraham, K. J., Joshi, K. K. & Murty, V. S. R., 2011, Taxonomy of the fishes of the family Leiognathidae (Pisces, Teleostei) from the West coast of India, Zootaxa 2886 (1), pp. 1-18 : 14

12. Aurigequula longispina (Valenciennes, 1835)

(Plate II, Fig. 4; Tables 1–3)

Leiognathus longispina Valenciennes, 1835 , Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales (2) 1: 11.

Material examined. 1 specimen, male, 115 mm TL ( Cochin) .

Description. D.VIII, 16; P. ii, 17, ii; V. I, 5; A. III, 14; C. 15. Ll. 61.

As percent of standard length: Total length 133.72; fork length 117.44; predorsal 37.21; preanal 51.16; dorsal base 58.14; anal base 44.19; head 30.23; dorsal height 41.86; anal height 45.35; pectoral 22.09; depth 56.98.

As percent of head length: Snout 30.77; eye 34.62; head height 92.31.

Body oval and compressed. Anterior part of the dorsal profile more strongly arched than anterior part of the ventral profile. The upper profile of the head with a gentle concavity. Snout blunt. Mouth small and pointing downward when protracted. Cleft of mouth above lower edge of eye. Mandibles inferiorly slightly concave. Teeth small, numerous and villiform. Two small spines above the anterior superior angle of the orbit. Pre-operculum with its lower margin distinctly and finely serrated. Lateral line strongly convex, extends beyond end of soft dorsal and anal, but stops a short distance in front of the caudal fin. Second spines of dorsal and anal fin greatly elongated. The second dorsal spine reaches up to the sixth dorsal ray and the ventral spine up to the fifth dorsal ray (only one specimen examined).

Color. Abdomen more silvery than back, which shows a few, faint, unevenly spaced horizontally elongate grey brown streaks or blotches. Variable number of yellow blotches along the flank below the lateral line. Soft anal and margin of soft dorsal fin yellow. Underside of the pectoral fin base dotted black. Tip of snout gray. Margin of caudal lobes dusky.

Distribution. Only stray catches are reported from Palk Bay and Kakinada. Reported from Cochin for the first time, in the present work.