A new species of Eukrohnia from the Indian seas with notes on three other species of Chaetognatha

Abstract

Berween 1963 and 1966 during the research cruises of R.V. Varuna off the west coast of India and the Laccadive Sea, the Indian Ocean Standard Net was used for taking a series of deep-water vertical open tows from depths upto 1,300 metres. The collections have brought to light interesting material which will considerably add to our understanding of the biogeography of the area. The chaetognatha is well represented by about 44,000 specimens belonging to 14 species, one of which is described here as new to science. Three other species, namely Eukrohnia fowleri Ritter-Zahony (1909), Sagitta hispida Conant (1895), and Sagitta lyra Krohn (1853) are interesting distributional records for the Indian Seas, and brief descriptions of these species are also given here.