New catfish species sighted at Manimala river

T. Nandakumar
Thiruvananthapuram,  
The Hindu, October 13, 2014 

Scientists have reported a new species of catfish from the Manimala river in Kottayam district, highlighting the need for more efforts to unearth the rich biodiversity of the Western Ghats.

Mathews Plamoottil, Assistant Professor, Government College, Chavara, came across the fish in January, 2011, during an exploratory survey of the river at Chenappady, a middle-level region of the river.

Later, in collaboration with Nelson P. Abraham, Associate Professor, St. Thomas College, Kozhencherry, he subjected it to detailed comparison with related species of catfish before establishing it as a new species named Mystus keralai .

The finding has been published in the latest issue of the International Journal of Pure and Applied Zoology. Mystus keralai is distinguished by its long head, small eyes, narrow groove on the head, elongated pelvic fin, anal fin and pectoral fin, very long maxillary barbells (whisker-like organs near the mouth) and a distinct lateral light brownish green line.

The body is smooth and devoid of scales like others of the Mystus species.

Comparative studies

Comparative studies with fresh specimens of two related species, M. cavasius and M. seengtee , collected from the Ganges river in West Bengal and the Mananthavady river in Wayanad, revealed that M. keralai had enough distinguishing features.

The researchers also compared the specimen to eight other Mystus species found in water bodies across Kerala.

They found that local people regularly consumed M. keralai. They also received reports from local sources that the fish had greatly declined in numbers owing to the pollution of the river.

The authors have called for detailed scientific studies with more specimens to reveal the biological aspects of the fish.

The new species has received the Zoobank register number from the International Commission for Zoological Nomenclature, the scientific authority for naming new animals.

The specimens have been deposited in the museum of the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, for further research.

 

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Four new catfish species discovered in Kerala

T. NANDAKUMAR, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, November 25, 2013

Four new species of freshwater catfish have been reported from Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts, highlighting the rich biodiversity of the riverine ecosystem in the State.

All the four species, namely Horabagrus melanosoma, Mystus heoki, Mystus indicus and Mystus menoni, were discovered from the Manimala river by Mathews Plamoottil, Assistant Professor in Zoology, Government College, Chavara, and Nelson P. Abraham, Associate Professor, St. Thomas College, Kozhenchery.

The researchers have published their findings in the latest issue of two prominent scientific journals, Biosystematica and the International Journal of Pure and Applied Zoology. The International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) has also approved the names given by the researchers to the new species.

Discovered from Venpala near Thiruvalla, H.melanosoma is deep black in colour with short fins and spine. It grows up to 23.5 cm. M.indicus was collected from Kuttoor in Pathanamthitta district. It is characterised by yellowish green colour on the upper lateral side and clear white on the lower lateral and grows up to 10 cm.

Featuring a bluish black mid lateral line and a long dorsal fin, M.menoni grows up to 12 cm. It is named after A.G.K. Menon, eminent freshwater fish taxonomist. An unusually long catfish, M. heoki was named after Singaporean taxonomist Heok Hee Ng. Both M.menoni and M.heoki were discovered from Elankadu in Idukki district. All the four species are edible.

According to Mr. Mathews Plamoottil, no new fish of the Mystus genus had been reported from Kerala since 1865 when Francis Day discovered Mystus armatus from Thrissur. In the course of his research work spanning several years, Mr. Mathews Plamoottil had collected almost all Mystus fish species in Kerala from various places in Kerala, including Wayanad, Thrissur and Kottayam.

This, he said, had enabled him to identify the new species.

Specimens (holotypes) of the new fish have been deposited at the Indian Museum, Kolkata, and the freshwater fish museum of the Zoological Survey of India, Kozhikode. All the new fish have also been registered in the World Zoobank of ICZN. A few months ago, Mr. Mathews had discovered another new catfish, Glyptothorax elankadensis from Idukki.

THE HINDU 25/11/2013

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/four-new-catfish-species-discovered-in-kerala/article5389056.ece

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