First record of <i>chiroteuthis picteti</i> joubin (cephalopoda: chiroteuthidae) from andaman sea

Abstract Chiroteuthis picteti (Joubin, 1894) is an oceanic squid previously documented from both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. This is the first report of C. picteti from Andaman Sea. Three specimens were collected from seashore of Corbyn’s Cove, Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. All three specimens were identified using morphological characteristics and the COI gene was used for molecular identification. Both morphological and molecular analysis confirmed this species. Our study also suggests the possibility of genetic differentiation within this species since the phylogenetic analysis showed two well-supported clades within C. picteti. One clade consists of sequences from the Indian Ocean (sequences generated in this study), while the other includes sequence from the Pacific Ocean. Further studies are needed to confirm the presence of cryptic groups within this species.