Muscat: In a remarkable turn of events, amateur diver Nasser Salim Mohammed Al Farsi, while diving four kilometers off the eastern coast of Masirah Island, inadvertently stumbled upon a serendipitous encounter with a rare marine species.
To his astonishment, Al Farsi was able to observe one of these elusive creatures in the waters of Oman. "The spotted fish, which initially caught my eye, was concealed among the rocks," he noted. Driven by curiosity, Al Farsi captured the fish at a depth of nearly 30 meters before releasing it back into the water, capturing photographs in the process.
Unfamiliar with the species, Al Farsi shared some of the photographs with his WhatsApp group, seeking insights from fellow divers. It was during this exchange that another diver shared the images with a fisherman, who recognized the fish and identified it as the Spottobrotula mossambica, commonly known as the "spotted sea snake of Mozambique." This species had previously been documented in 1978 by a research vessel in the Straits of Mozambique, at a depth of 45 meters.
Contrary to its classification within the sea snake sub-family (Hydrophiinae), the Spottobrotula mossambica belongs to the Neobythitinae sub-family and the Ophidiidae family, which also includes two other species: Spottobrotula persica and Spottobrotula mahodadi.
The Marine Science and Fisheries Centre of the Sultanate of Oman made history in October 2022 by announcing the documentation of the Spottobrotula persica, or the spotted sea snake of Mozambique, for the first time. This species is known to inhabit depths ranging from 22 to 82 meters and has a maximum length of 30 centimeters.
Al Farsi's sighting of the fish, 46 years after its initial documentation in Mozambique, underscores the rarity and enduring allure of these remarkable marine creatures.
