Thiruvananthapuram,
The Hindu, October 5, 2015
A new fish species belonging to a rare genus has been
discovered from the Manimala river at Paduthode near Mallappally in
Pathanamthitta district. Named
Batasio flavus
, the species belonging to the Bagridae family was discovered, named and
described by Mathews Plamoottil, Assistant Professor in Zoology, Baby
John Memorial Government College, Chavara, Kollam.
The finding has been published in the latest issue of the
Journal of Research in Biology
, an international scientific research publication.
The
fish is characterised by a slender body, yellow colour, longitudinal
groove on the head and a thin brownish black line through the mid
lateral line. It inhabits headwater streams and the upper reaches of
smaller rivers characterised by shallow stretches and fast flowing
water.
‘Flavu’ is a Latin word meaning light yellow. According to Mr. Mathews,
Batasio flavus
is the second
Batasio
species discovered from Kerala after a gap of 74 years.
It was in 1941 that two scientists, Hora and Law, discovered
Batasio travancoria
from Edakadathy near Erumely.
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