Bhubnaeswar: Researchers of the Chilika Development Authority have found Isognomon ephippium,commonly known as leaf oyster, in the lake for the first time.

Scientists said the species, commonly found in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, was recorded first time along the mainland of coastal India.

The species was found in the outer channel area of the lake. "The occurrence of the species in the outer channel of the lake is significant in the light of its suitability to accommodate a range of faunal species of purely marine in nature. Further study on the species is on," said researcher Debasish Mahapatra.

Scientists said though the reason behind occurrence of the oyster in the Chilika was still mysterious, super cyclones Phailin and Hudhud might have facilitated their arrival in the lake. "It is presumed that the larvae of this species might have drifted passively from the Andaman Sea with the high energetic waves following the tracks of Phailin and Hudhud in the Bay of Bengal," said Mohapatra.

Phailin had hit the Odisha cost in October 2013, while Hudhud had struck the state in October 2014.

Additional chief executive of the authority Sasmita Lenka said the oyster found in the lake had high commercial value. "It is edible, and the shell is also used for decorative purpose in Andaman and Nicobar. This can bolster the economic condition of local people depending on the lake," she said.

Earlier, the researchers had recorded as many as 17 new fish species at the Chilika lagoon between 2011 and 2017.

The research, funded by the World Bank, was conducted by the Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore. It had revealed presence of 335 species of fishes, including 129 commercially important ones.

Besides, the forest officials this year also spotted Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) a Schedule-I animal under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, in the Chilika lake near Rambha in Ganjam district after more than three decades.