A checklist of chaetognaths along the eastern Arabian sea

Abstract

Chaetognatha, the second-most abundant zooplankton in the marine ecosystem, is a connecting link between copepods and organisms of the higher trophic level. The present checklist provides detailed information on the morphology and distribution of chaetognaths in the eastern Arabian Sea (northeastern Arabian Sea, southeastern Arabian Sea, and Laccadive Sea). It includes five families under two orders with 34 species belonging to 15 genera and recorded from both shelf, oceanic and deep sea waters of the eastern Arabian Sea, creating a first line data on chaetognaths of the Arabian Sea.