Kolkata, Scientists of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have discovered a new species of dogfish shark off the Kerala coast.

Various varieties of the dogfish, which is a small shark, are in demand for their fins, liver oil and meat and are sporadically caught by fishermen.

The newly discovered species differs from others in the number of teeth, torso and head height, wing structure and feather colour, the team that discovered it said in the ZSI journal.

"The new species, Squalus hema, was discovered from specimens collected from a fishing port in Kerala, close to the Arabian Sea," said ZSI scientist Bineesh KK, team leader at the Marine Biology Regional Centre.

The new species has been described based on 13 specimens collected off the south-west coast of India during a survey conducted up to 1000 meters along the coastline to understand the diversity of sharks in the deep sea, he said.

They said, "Taxonomic reassessment of common Squalus in the Indo-Pacific and other regions has revealed several undescribed species that were historically lumped together under a single name."

ZSI Director Dhriti Banerjee said the survey was conducted under the 'Deep Ocean Mission' of the Ministry of Earth Sciences.