The discovery marks an important step towards understanding the rich but largely unexplored marine biodiversity of the Indian Ocean. Photo: pib.gov.in.
A deep-sea shark found in Indian Ocean waters and long believed to be identical to its Atlantic counterpart has been identified as a distinct species by Indian scientists.
Named Echinorhinus roinee, or the Indian Bramble Shark, the species was identified by researchers from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), a ZSI statement said on Thursday (November 12, 2026).
The discovery marks an important step towards understanding the rich but largely unexplored marine biodiversity of the Indian Ocean.
The research findings have been published in the journal ‘Records of the Zoological Survey of India’ (Volume 126, Issue 1S, 2026).
The specimens were collected at Sakthikulangara Fishing Harbour in Kollam, Kerala, where the sharks were brought ashore as accidental catches by deep-sea shrimp trawlers.
These sharks live along the underwater slopes of the continental shelf at depths of 350 to 450 metres and can grow up to three metres in length.
It has a dark brown to almost black body covered with large, thorn-like structures on its skin.
As the shark grows older, these structures join together to form plates with several pointed edges. Scientists found that the newly identified species has larger eyes, bigger pelvic fins and a longer region between its snout and gills compared to related species.
DNA tests also confirmed that it is genetically different from the Atlantic bramble shark (Echinorhinus brucus) and the Pacific prickly shark (Echinorhinus cookei).
Genetic records from other regions suggest that the newly identified species may also be found in waters off Oman, Sri Lanka and Thailand, indicating that its distribution is not limited to the Indian coast, the statement said.
For several decades, bramble sharks caught in Indian waters were wrongly identified as the Atlantic species.
Scientists said this also affected earlier fisheries records and studies on marine ecology.
ZSI Director Dhriti Banerjee said, “For decades, the bramble shark in our deep waters was assumed to be the same species found in the Atlantic. Our measurements and DNA evidence show otherwise. The Indian Bramble Shark is a distinct species, and it reminds us how much of our deep-sea biodiversity is still waiting to be properly understood.”
The research was conducted by Praveen Rozario, Bineesh K.K., Sweta Beura, Anil Kasinath and Dhriti Banerjee of ZSI, along with Akhilesh KV of ICAR-CMFRI.
The study received funding from the Ministry of Earth Sciences under India’s Deep Ocean Mission.
Published – November 12, 2026 07:10 pm IST
