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The microenvironment of bacteria associated with the gastrointestinal tract of an animal in£uences the host in many ways, including the metabolism of several nutrients. Isolation, molecular characterization and enzymatic activities of culturable bacteria associated with the gastrointestinal tract of hatcheryreared oceanic yellow seahorse, Hippocampus kuda, were investigated in the present study. 16S rRNA sequencing of bacterial isolates yielded 10 di¡erent bacterial genera belonging to two major groups: proteobacteria (62.9%) and ¢rmicutes (37.03%). The predominant microbial £ora belonged to the genera Vibrio spp., Enterovibrio sp. and Bacillus spp. Burkholderia cenocepacia, hitherto unreported from the gastrointestinal tract of marine ¢sh, was retrieved from the seahorse gut, albeit in small numbers. Enzymatic studies indicated that the bacterial isolates possess the ability to degrade lipids, cellulose, xylan, starch and proteins. Lipase activity was exhibited by a majority of the isolates (70.4%), indicating that the bacterial £ora associated with the intestinal tract of seahorses is capable of digesting foods rich in lipids. The possible implications for the role of these bacteria in the digestion and physiological processes are discussed. To our knowledge, this is the ¢rst time that the characterization and enzymatic activities of bacteria associated with the intestinal tract of farmed seahorses have been reported.

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Accurate information of taxonomy and geographic range of seahorse species (genus Hippocampus) is the first step in preparing threat assessments and designing effective conservation measures. Here, we report first records and a range extension of the Japanese seahorse, Hippocampus mohnikei (Bleeker, 1853) from the Mandovi estuarine ecosystem of Goa, central west coast of India (CWCI) based on morphological and molecular analyses. The morphometric and meristic traits, particularly short snout (29-35% head length), double cheek spine, low coronet, long tail (51.2-57.9% of standard length), 11 trunk rings, 37-39 tail rings, 15-16 dorsal and 12-14 fin rays observed in four collected specimens matched with the reported key diagnostic morphological criteria of vouchered specimens of H. mohnikei. The seahorse mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and cytochrome b (Cyt b) genes were partially sequenced for conclusive genetic identification of the species under study. Molecular analysis showed that all four individuals clustered together suggesting a monophyletic lineage. Using the maximum similarity with GenBank database, maximum likelihood network and subsequent morphological analysis, the identity of the collected seahorse species was reconfirmed as H. mohnikei. With this new report, the geographic range of H. mohnikei extended significantly to the west from its previously known range. This new sighting of H. mohnikei could indicate a long-distance dispersal facilitated by the prevailing oceanic circulation in the Indo-Pacific region or increased habitat suitability in bay-estuarine systems of Goa, CWCI. Comparison of the pair-wise genetic distances (Kimura 2-parameter) based on COI and Cyt b sequences revealed that the specimens examined in this study are genetically closer to H. mohnikei populations from Vietnam and Thailand than they are to those in Japan and China. To test the hypothesis whether H. mohnikei are vagrants or previously unreported established population, long-term inter-annual sampling and analyses are warranted. PLOS ONE PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0220420 March 24, 2020 1 / 22 OPEN ACCESS Citation: Sanaye SV, Khandeparker R, Rayadurga AS, Shivaramu MS, Kankonkar H, Narvekar J, et al. (2020) Morphological and molecular evidence for first records and range extension of the Japanese seahorse, Hippocampus mohnikei (Bleeker 1853) in a bay-estuarine system of Goa, central west coast of India. PLoS ONE 15(3): e0220420. https://

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A new species of Grandidierella Coutière, 1904, G. nioensis is described from the east coast of India. It is close to G. mahafalensis Coutière, 1904, from Madagascar and G. halophilus Wongkamhaeng, Pholpunthin & Azman, 2012 from Thailand. A key is provided to facilitate the identification of species in the Grandidierella mahafalensis Coutière, 1904 species-complex.

13. Firouzi, S. and Alizadeh, M., Evaluation of different weeding methods for groundnut in northern Iran. Afr. J. Agric. Res., 2012, 7(8), 307-1311. 14. Sharma, D. N. and Mukesh, S., Farm Machinery DesignPrinciples and Problems, Jain Brothers, New Delhi, 2010, 2nd edn, pp. 191-196. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. We are grateful to AEC&RI, TNAU Coimbatore for financial and academic support to conduct the study.