New Arabian Black Electric Ray Found in Deep Sea
Scientists have described Tetronarce ramanamurthyi, the Arabian Black Electric Ray, from deep waters off India's coast, the first record of its genus in the northern Indian Ocean.
Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India have discovered and described a new species of electric ray from the deep waters of the southeastern Arabian Sea. The Arabian Black Electric Ray, named Tetronarce ramanamurthyi, was announced on 27 October 2026 and marks the first confirmed record of the genus Tetronarce in the northern Indian Ocean. The discovery sheds new light on the rich and poorly explored biodiversity of deep-sea ecosystems in the region. The research was carried out under the Deep Ocean Mission, a project that focuses on the taxonomy, distribution, biology and status of deep-sea cartilaginous fishes, the group that includes sharks, rays and chimaeras.
The new species was described from nine specimens collected off India’s southwestern coast, and it is distinguished by several unique physical and genetic traits. The discovery was led by Dr. K. K. Bineesh and Anil Kasinath from the Marine Biology Regional Centre of the Zoological Survey of India in Chennai. The findings were published in the international taxonomy journal Zootaxa. The species was named in recognition of Dr. M. V. Ramana Murthy, an ocean engineer whose career has included coastal research, marine technology and ocean development, and who serves as mission director of the Deep Ocean Mission.
Why the Arabian Black Electric Ray matters
Electric rays are known for their ability to produce electric discharges, which they use to stun prey and defend themselves, although the new species has not yet been studied in detail in its natural habitat. Its discovery shows that deep waters off the southwestern coast still hold undescribed fishes, even in a genus that scientists thought they understood. For researchers, the find provides a basis for further study of deep-sea rays, their distribution and their place in ocean food webs. It also underlines the value of systematic deep-sea surveys, which continue to reveal new animals from depths that remain difficult to explore.
Source: Press Information Bureau
