A NEW SPECIES OF BARB
Phylum :Chordata
Class :Actinopterygii
Subclass :Neopterygii
Infraclass :Teleostei
Superorder:Ostariophysi
Order :Cypriniformes
Family :Cyprinidae
Subfamily :Barbinae
Genus :Puntius
Species :madhusoodani
A new species of
barb, christened the Puntius madhusoodani has been reportedly discovered from
the Manimala River in Pathanamthitta district during a River Fish Monitoring
Programme of the State Bio-diversity Board.
The programme, conducted by K. Krishna Kumar, F.G. Benno Pereira and K.V. Radhakrishnan, resulted in the collection of four specimens, which they said could not be readily assigned to any of the known species under the fish genus Puntius, following which a detailed analysis was done and the fish was described as a new species, Puntius madhusoodani.
The programme, conducted by K. Krishna Kumar, F.G. Benno Pereira and K.V. Radhakrishnan, resulted in the collection of four specimens, which they said could not be readily assigned to any of the known species under the fish genus Puntius, following which a detailed analysis was done and the fish was described as a new species, Puntius madhusoodani.
As per the study, the new species could be distinguished from all its congeners by the presence of one pair of short maxillary barbells; a smaller snout; a dorsal fin nearer to tip of the snout; absence of an ubiquitous spot at the dorsal fin base; and the branched rays of the dorsal and anal fin that were tinted with black.
The new species has been named after B. Madhusoodana Kurup, honouring his contribution to taxonomy and conservation of freshwater fishes in Kerala. Currently known only from the Manimala River, further studies are awaited for more details on the prevalence of the Puntius madhusoodani.
The results of the analysis have hence been published in Biosystematica, an international peer reviewed biannual journal on animal taxonomy, diversity, ecology and zoogeography.
Source :http://www.thehindu.com
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