Abstract
Xanthism, an abnormal skin colouration of yellow to orange-gold, is an uncommon phenomenon in nature and xanthochromic specimens are rare. We report and describe four incidences of adult xanthochromic specimens observed in Scomberomorus commerson, Lobotes surinamensis, Sphyraena putnamae and Seriola rivoliana collected from the Arabian Sea coasts of Pakistan. The specimens of S. commerson, S. putnamae and S. rivoliana displayed an overall loss of dark pigmentations, while the two specimens of Lobotes surinamensis retained some patches of dark pigmentations on their bodies. This appears to be the first documented record of xanthochromism in the families Scombridae, Lobotidae and Sphyraenidae from in the Arabian Sea.
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Our sincere thanks are due to Richard Porter, Middle East Programme, BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK for reading the manuscript.
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Jawad, L.A., Moazzam, M., Osmany, H.B. et al. First Records of Xanthochromism in Four Marine Fish Species Collected from the Arabian Sea Coasts of Pakistan. Thalassas 37, 897–903 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41208-021-00318-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41208-021-00318-z