First Record of Indian Hand Fish Halieutaea indica Annandale Jenkins, 1910 From Chennai Coast, Tamil Nadu, India
Introduction The angler fishes (Order Lophiiformes) have been evolved with some of the most unusual morphological and ecological adaptations in the tremendously diverse and varied clade of bony fishes and are among the most specialized groups of fishes. In the 18 families of the order "Ogcocephalidae" the bat fishes occupies one among them with 10 genera and about 70 species was reported worldwide. It is a poorly known group of small <300 mm) benthic fishes found in tropical and subtropical seas, from shallow inshore waters to depths as great as 3,000 m. They generally inhabit on continental shelves and slopes, on flat, relatively open bottom habitats of rubble, sand and mud.