First Report of Single Pelvic Fin in Hemiramphus far (Family: Hemiramphidae) from Indian Waters

Abstract

This is the first report of morphological abnormalities in Hemiramphus far (Forsskal, 1775) from Tamilnadu, S-E coast of India. A young female of 236mm SL, captured in a gill-net, was found with single pelvic fin. The comparison of morphological characters of normal specimens and abnormal specimen did not reveal any difference. Thus, it is concluded that stress during ontogenic growth affected the development of the second pelvic fin and this deficiency did not interfere in survival till adulthood.