New Distributional Record of Hasselt’s Bamboo Shark Chiloscyllium hasseltii (Orectolobiformes: Hemiscylliidae) from Bangladesh Waters

A new record of Hasselt’s bamboo shark Chiloscyllium hasseltii (Orectolobiformes: Hemiscylliidae) has been confirmed from the St. Martin’s Island, the northeastern part of the Bay of Bengal of Bangladesh. Two male specimens were collected on 19th December 2018 from the coast of St. Martin’s Island as a bycatch of the local fishermen. The traditional morphometric method was applied for taxonomic identification which was further validated by a molecular approach based on partial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences (DNA barcodes). The key characteristics of this species are the distance from first to second dorsal fin less than 9.3% of TL; first dorsal fin height less than 6.6% of TL and second dorsal fin height less than 5.8% of TL. The morphometric, meristic and DNA barcoding data thus confirmed the presence of C. hasseltii in Bangladesh. With this report a new shark species has been added in the treasure of the marine ichthyofaunal diversity of Bangladesh and also updates the geographical distribution range of this species.