Schistura madhavai

Last updated

Schistura madhavai
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Nemacheilidae
Genus: Schistura
Species:
S. madhavai
Binomial name
Schistura madhavai
Sudasinghe, 2017

Schistura madhavai, is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Schistura , newly distributed from Sri Lanka. It is the second species of Schistura stone loach described from Sri Lanka, the other being the widely distributed native species Schistura notostigma .

Contents

Etymology

The specific name madhavai is named in honor of Prof. Madhava Meegaskumbura, who is a renowned taxonomist of Sri Lanka, and mentor of the researcher Hiranya Sudasinghe, who described the species. [1]

Description

S. madhavai can be identified by the presence of 8 to 9 wide brown post-dorsal bars, black bar at caudal fin, incomplete lateral line, pelvic fin, which is adpressed marginally reach the anal fin and axillary pelvic lobe is absent. [2]

Ecology

The species was discovered in a stream in Suriyakanda from a two meter wide area. The stream the S. madhavi was discovered in flows through a tea plantation in hill country at 1,000, above sea level. It is the fifth species of loach found in Sri Lanka, including the Sri Lanka banded mountain loach S. notostigma and a third stone loach, the tiger loach Paracanthocobitis urophthalma . The other two Sri Lankan loaches are members of the family Cobitidae, the true loaches. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Schistura</i> Genus of fishes

Schistura is a genus of fish in the stone loach family Nemacheilidae native to the streams and rivers of the southern and eastern Asia. Some of these species are troglobitic.

Schistura melarancia is a species of ray-finned fish, a stone loach, in the genus Schistura. It is found in the Mekong drainage in Laos and Vietnam. The specific name melarancia is derived from an old Italian word for an orange and refers to the orange-brown colour of the fins and body of this species.

Schistura nicholsi is a species of ray-finned fish, a stone loach, in the genus Schistura. It is found in the Mekong basin of north eastern Thailand, Laos and it is also likely to be found in Cambodia. It occurs in shallow riffles with moderate to fast flows. Human modification of the rivers' morphology through such activities as logging and agriculture are affecting this species range. However, its distribution covers a wide geographic range and it is assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN. The specific name honors John Treadwell Nichols (1883-1958) who was curator of fishes at the American Museum of Natural History and who made an important contribution to the ichthyology of China, and especially to the knowledge of loaches.

Schistura nomi is a species of ray-finned fish, a stone loach, in the genus Schistura. This species is found in streams which have a moderate to fast current, in riffles, where the bed consists of gravel to stone in the Kong River in Laos. The specific name honours a Mr Nom who was the describer, Maurice Kottelat's, driver in Laos.

Schistura notostigma, the spotback loach, is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Schistura, distributed in peninsula of India and Sri Lanka. Until 2017, it was thought to be the only species of Schistura stone loach found in Sri Lanka before a new species Schistura madhavai, was described.

Schistura papulifera is a critically endangered species of ray-finned fish, a troblobitic stone loach, in the genus Schistura endemic to the state of Meghalaya in India. It is currently known to be restricted to the Krem Synrang Pamiang cave system near the Jaintia Hills, where it is threatened by limestone extraction. This species lives in pools of standing water within the cave system preferring these to the streams of flowing water, being most numerous in the largest and deepest pools. This may be because the larger pools offer a more stable environment for the fish. The specific name is a compound of the Latin papula meaning "a small tumour" and fera meaning "to bear", referring to the growths around the lower half this species head.

Schistura poculi is a species of ray-finned fish, a stone loach, in the genus Schistura. This species of stone loach is currently thought to occur in the basins of the Mekong, Salween and Chao Praya rivers in Myanmar, Thailand and Laos. However, these may refer to more than one species, in which case the name S. poculi belongs to the population in the Chao Praya. It can be found in streams with moderately fast to fast currents among riffles where there are substrates which vary from gravel to stone. The specific name poculi means "bowl" and refers to the type locality, Doi Angkon in Thailand with angkon meaning "crow's bowl".

Schistura prashadi is a species of ray-finned fish, a stone loach, in the genus Schistura. Some authorities place it in the genus Physoschistura It is known from just three localities in the Chindwin River drainage in Manipur, India. It is a benthic species of hill streams, preferring well oxygenated, clear, flowing water.

Schistura robertsi is a species of ray-finned fish, a stone loach, in the genus Schistura. It is found on the western side of the Malay Peninsula from Tanintharyi Region in southern Myanmar to Trang Province in Peninsular Thailand and on Langkawi Island in Malaysia. It occurs in streams and hill creeks, inhabiting stretches with stream beds made up of gravel and small stones and it is threatened by developments for tourism, agriculture, livestock farming, residential property and commercial property. The specific name honours the American ichthyologist Tyson R. Roberts who collected most of the original type series which were used by Maurice Kottelat to describe the species.

<i>Schistura rupecula</i> Species of fish

Schistura rupecula is a species of ray-finned fish, a stone loach, in the genus Schistura. It is distributed through the eastern Himalayas from North Bengal through Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh in India and into Nepal. Its habitat is hill streams with pebbly stream beds while adults are often found in shallow water riffles and spring pools. The specific name rupecula means "rock dweller" which was given to the species by its describer John McClelland in reference to the hill streams around Simla from where the type specimens were collected. It is the type species of the genus Schistura.

Schistura sexcauda is a species of ray-finned fish, a stone loach, in the genus Schistura. It is found in the basin of the Chao Phraya River in central Thailand where it has been recorded in streams with a moderate to fast current, in riffles, over substrates consisting of gravel to stone. Some authorities regard Schistura fowleriana as a synonym of this species.

Schistura sombooni is a species of ray-finned fish, a stone loach, in the genus Schistura. It is found only in the Mekong drainage system in Laos where it occurs in stretches of streams with a relatively slow current and a gravel or sandy stream bed. The specific name honours Somboon Phetphommasouk a liaison engineer with the Nam Theun 2 Electricity Consortium of Vientiane who rendered assistance and help in the field to the describer of this species, Maurice Kottelat.

Schistura vinciguerrae is a species of ray-finned fish, a stone loach, in the genus Schistura which is found in the Irrawaddy and Salween River basins in Myanmar, and the Chindwin drainage in Myanmar and Manipur, India. The specific name honours the Italian ichthyologist Decio Vinciguerra, who classified Burmese fishes and described the species, Schistura multifasciata, which S. vinciguerrae was separated from.

<i>Schistura waltoni</i> Species of fish

Schistura waltoni is a species of ray-finned fish, a stone loach, in the genus Schistura. It is a species of in streams which have a moderate to fast current where it can be found in riffles, over gravel to rock beds. It is often recorded in small streams in forest, even where the water is very shallow. It occurs in the upper reaches the Chao Phraya watershed in Thailand in the rivers Mae Nam Ping, Mae Nam Wang and Mae Nam Yom. The specific name honours Joseph Walton a 19th Century contributor to the fish collection at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.

<i>Schistura zonata</i> Species of fish

Schistura zonata is a species of ray-finned fish, a stone loach, in the genus Schistura from hill streams in Assam, India. Its exact distribution is unknown and there have been records of this species since the type specimens were collected. Some authorities include Nemacheilus mugah as a synonym of S. zonata, which in turn has been regarded as a synonym of Schistura scaturigina, but these views are not currently widely accepted.

Schistura devdevi is a species of ray-finned fish in the stone loach genus Schistura. It is found in clear, swift streams with pebble beds in upland areas of the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Sikkim and West Bengal, as well as in Nepal. It sometimes appears in the aquarium trade. The specific name honours Dr Dev Dev Mukerji of the Zoological Survey of India.

Schistura kodaguensis is a species of ray-finned fish, a stone loach, in the genus Schistura. This species has been recorded from a single stream with a swift current and gravel bottom in the Cauvery River system in Karnataka, India. The specific name is derived from Kodagu District where the type specimen was collected.

Schistura mobbsi is a species of troglobitic stone loach from the genus Schistura which is endemic to the Phuong Hoang Cave in Thai Nguyen Province in Vietnam. Its specific name honours Jerry Mobbs the speleologist who first discovered and explored the Phuong Hoang Cave to which this species is restricted. Schistura mobbsi has no eyes, lacks pigmentation and does not possess a lateral line, has a reduced number of fin rays, large nostrils which are placed well forward on snout, and non overlapping scales which are restricted to posterior part of flanks.

Schistura scripta, is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Schistura, newly identified from Sri Lanka. It is the third species of Schistura stone loach described from Sri Lanka, the other being the widely distributed native species Schistura notostigma and endemic Schistura madhavai.

Schistura aizawlensis is a species of ray-finned fish in the stone loach genus Schistura. It occurs in Muthi River, a tributary of Tuirial River, Mizoram, Northeast India. It may inhabit moderate or strongly-flowing stream with a substrate of gravel and rocks and a water temperature of 22 to 28 °C over the course of the day.

References

  1. 1 2 "New native freshwater fish found in Suriyakanda stream". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  2. "Schistura madhavai, a new species of hill-stream loach from Sri Lanka, with redescription of S. notostigma (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae)". Zoo Taxa. Retrieved 3 October 2017.