First Report on the Occurrence of Five Mangrove-Associated Fishes From Kerala, India

Four species of fishes viz., Acentrogobius viridipunctatus; Mugilogobius tigrinus; Oxyurichthys ophthalmonema; Pseudogobius poicilosoma; belonging to the family Gobiidae and one species Yarica hyalosoma belonging to the family Apogonidae are recorded from the mangroves of Kadalundi- Vallikkunnu Community Reserve, Kerala using a small aquarium net. All these species are reported for the first time from the state of Kerala. Mugilogobius tigrinus is being reported from the Arabian Sea for the first time. Diagnostic characters and distribution data for all the species are recorded in this work. The present work gives definitive proof for the rich aquatic resources of Kerala and emphasizes the need for further studies on mangrove-associated estuarine ichthyofauna from the region.