Glyptothorax elankadensis a new species

Biosystematica, 2012, 6(2)

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Glyptothorax elankadensis (Order-Siluriformes: family- Sisoridae), a new fish species fromManimala River, Kerala, India

MATHEWS PLAMOOTTIL1 & NELSON P. ABRAHAM2

1Asst. Professor, Govt. College, Chavara, Kollam Dt., Kerala, India.2Associate Professor, St.Thomas college, Kozhencherry, Pathanamthitta Dt., Kerala, India.

ABSTRACT. Glyptothorax elankadensis is described as a new sisorid species of the genus Glyptothorax,from Manimala River, Kerala, India. It is characterized as follows: Osseous serrated principal ray of dorsal andpectoral fins, with four pairs of barbels, all fins yellow tipped. Three narrow yellow bands – one mid dorsal andothers mid lateral- present on longitudinal axis of body. Two small yellowish round spots on dorsal side downwardsand backwards from dorsal fin origin. Median fontanel on the dorsal side of the head very faint and indistinct.Occipital process does not reach basal bone of dorsal fin. Meristic, metric and other morphological features ofG. elankadensis described and compared with its relatives.

Key words: Sisorid fish, Glyptothorax madraspatnam, yellow tipped fins, Elankad

Introduction

Sisorid fishes of the genus Glyptothorax inhabit FoothillRivers and fast flowing mountain streams and are benthicin habitat. They maintain themselves attached to therocks, boulders, stones at the bottom of water bodieswhere they live by means of a thoracic adhesiveapparatus which is a sort of sucking disk as an adaptivestructure (Weber & Beaufort, 1965; Jayaram, 2010).About forty species of Glyptothorax occur in India(Day, 1889; Hora & Silas, 1952; Misra, 1976; Jayaram,2010). Of these, seven species are residing in the waterbodies of Kerala (Hora, 1942; Silas, 1952b; Biju et al.,1998; Easa & shaji, 2003). The only one species ofGlyptothorax reported from Travancore to date is G.madraspatanam (Day) (Hora, 1923; Hora & Law, 1941;Silas, 1952a; Jayaram, 2006).

This Glyptothorax from Manimala river is very distinctfrom all other species of the genus, chiefly in colourmarkings and body structure; hence it is described hereas a new species Glyptothorax elankadensis. Thedescriptions are based on three specimens collected byMathews Plamoottil from Manimala River at Elankadof Idukki district (Fig.6) and Mundakkayam of Kottayamdistrict (Fig.6) of Kerala.

BiosystematicaISSN: 0973-7871(online)ISSN: 0973-9955 (print)

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© Prof. T.C. Narenderan Trust for Animal Taxonomyhttp://www.tcntrust.org/journal.php

Corresponding author: [email protected]

Materials and Methods

Fishes were collected using cast nets and preserved in10% formalin. Identification of the species was carriedout following Day (1878, 1889), Misra (1976) andJayaram (2006, 2010); methods used are those ofJayaram (2002) and measurements follow standardpractices, using dial calipers. The values of holotypeare given first and then range, in which holotype included,followed by their mean values. Measurements weretaken on the left side of specimens. Body depth andbody width were measured both at dorsal-fin origin andanus, vertically from dorsal-fin origin to belly and fromanus to dorsum, respectively.

Abbreviations - Institutional abbreviations are: ZSI-Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, West Bengal; ZSI/WGRC- Zoological Survey of India, Western GhatsRegional Centre, Calicut; ZSI/SRC- Zoological Surveyof India, Southern Regional Centre, Chennai; KUFOS-Kerala University of fisheries and Ocean Studies,Panangadu, Cochin; KFRI- Kerala Forest ResearchInstitute, Peechi, Thrichur; SILURI- Siluriformes; SISO-Sisoridae; GLYPTO- Glyptothorax; F-Fish, FF- Fishfauna; HT- holotype; DRD-AD- distance from rayeddorsal fin to adipose dorsal fin.


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Glyptothorax elankadensis, sp.nov(Figures 1-5; Table 1)

Material examined

Holotype: ZSI/WGRC/IR/2351, 1 specimen 110 mmstandard length, Elankadu (Fig.7), Manimala river,Kerala, India, collected by Mathews Plamoottil, 12January 2011.

Paratypes: ZSI/WGRC/IR/2352, 2 specimens 115 &101 mm standard length, Elankadu & Mundakkayam(Fig.8), Manimala river, Kerala, India, collected byMathews Plamoottil, 10 February 2011 & 2 June 2012.

Diagnosis: Medium sized Glyptothorax species withtips of all the fins yellow colored. Three narrow yellowbands – one mid dorsal and others mid lateral- presenton longitudinal axis of body. Two small yellowish roundspots on dorsal side downwards and backwards fromdorsal fin origin. A round yellowish spot in betweeneyes. Median fontanel on the dorsal side of the headvery faint and indistinct. Occipital process does not reachbasal bone of dorsal fin. Eyes very minute; blue colored,nearly circular, level to the surface of head or a littlebulging and are located behind and above the angle ofjaws; mouth inferior; thoracic apparatus longer thanbroad, an elongated groove in the middle of it. Rayeddorsal is shorter than head and pectoral and longer thanpelvic and anal; its base is longer than pectoral and pelvicbut shorter than anal. First ray of pectoral and lastundivided ray of dorsal fin serrated on inner side. Noneof the fins touch each other. Ventral surface of anteriorregion of head papillated. Body finely granulated. Headlength 4.2, body depth at dorsal fin origin 5.9 in standardlength. Eye diameter 17.1, head width 1.1, head depth1.6, width of gape of mouth 2.6 in head length.

Description: Morphometric data appear in Table 1.Data for countable characters follow; Dorsal -fin raysiii, 4-6; Anal-fin rays i-iii, 7-10; Caudal-fin rays 17;Ventral-fin rays i, 5; Pectoral-fin rays i, 8- 10.Body rigid, elongate; skin thick; head depressed. Dorsalprofile arched and ventral side straight. Pre dorsal regionbends downwardly in a straight line from occiput to tipof snout; post dorsal region nearly straight with only aslight slope. Median fontanel on the dorsal side of thehead very faint and indistinct. A small depression isseen on the lateral side below the occiput and above the

posterior base of pectoral, on either side. Upper jawfairly longer than lower jaw and the former overhangsthe mouth. Snout length greater than that of interorbitalwidth. Eyes very small, blue colored, nearly circular,level to the surface of head or a little bulging and arelocated behind and above the angle of jaws. They aresituated backwards and inwards from snout, towardsthe middle of head and not visible from ventral side.Anterior and posterior nostrils are located close to eachother, away from eyes and nearer to upper lip and arenot covered by a distinct flap. Nares of both sides closelylocated than between eyes. Anterior nostrils fairlycircular, posterior ones roughly spherical; mouth inferiorand narrow; maxillaries smoothly reach adhesiveapparatus and just reach the origin of pectoral, beyondeyes and nostrils and its base thick; outer mandibularsfairly reach adhesive apparatus and a little in front ofanterior nostrils but never reach eyes; inner mandibularsroughly reach anterior part of adhesive apparatus; nasalsare nearer to maxillaries base than to eyes, never reacheyes, but reach upper lip. Adhesive apparatus has aprominent median groove, which is deeper on its anteriorend. Occipital process does not reach basal bone ofdorsal fin. Rayed dorsal fin triangular and closer to tip of snoutthan to caudal fin base, far behind of origin of pectoraland fairly in front of ventral origin. Upper margin ofdorsal almost straight and it reach just behind the originof pelvic. Rayed dorsal is shorter than head and pectoraland longer than pelvic and anal; its base is longer thanpectoral and pelvic but shorter than anal. Its first threerays are undivided; first ray is very small, osseous, hardbut forwardly directing and hidden in the skin. Secondray is prominent and stouter than other rays and serratedinternally but weak. Last undivided ray is not muchdeveloped.Adipose dorsal originates just above or roughly behindthe point of origin of anal. It is shorter than all other finsand its base longer than that of pectoral and pelvic.Pectoral pointed in profile and it originates from belowand a little inside of opercle and fairly in front of dorsaland pelvic fins on ventro lateral side. Its upper marginnearly straight and its tip reach to a region just belowthe origin of rayed dorsal but never reach ventral origin.It is shorter than head but longer than all other fins andits base longer than that of pelvic and shorter than allother fins. Pelvic fin triangular and it originates in frontof anal on ventral side, fairly behind dorsal and pectoral,upper margin straight and its tip never reach anal butreach vent. Its base is not parallel to the longitudinalaxis of body but inserted obliquely so as to form a

PLAMOOTTIL & ABRAHAM


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Fig.1. Dorsal view of Glyptothorax elankadensis, in living condition (ZSI/WGRC/IR 2352 -Paratype)

Fig.2. Lateral view of Glyptothorax elankadensis, in living condition (ZSI/WGRC/IR 2352- Paratype)

Fig. 3. Lateral view of G. elankadensis (Holotype) (ZSI/WGRC/IR 2351).

Glyptothorax elankadensis a new fish species from Kerala, India


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Fig.4. Head of G. elankadensis- dorsal view Fig.5. Glyptothorax elankadensis head- Ventral viewshowing adhesive apparatus

Fig.6. Map of a portion of high level region of Manimala River showing the distribution of Glyptothorax elankadensis



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triangular space in front of it. Pelvic fins are longerthan adipose dorsal, shorter than rayed dorsal andpectoral and nearly equal to anal. Length of its baseshorter than all other fins. Last rays of ventral fin lieclosely on the ventral side of the body. Anal fintriangular, its margin straight and it originates just in frontof or on the level of adipose dorsal on ventral side andconsiderably behind vent. Its tip reaches a level justbelow the tip of adipose dorsal on ventral side. Anal finis longer than adipose dorsal, equal to ventral and shorterthan dorsal and pectoral. Its base is longer than that ofdorsal, pectoral and pelvic. Vent not very close to analorigin. Caudal fin deeply forked its lower lobe a littlebroader than upper lobe and its lobes pointed.

Coloration. Lateral and dorsal sides light brownish tobrownish green, ventral side from snout tip to front baseof anal yellowish, posterior to that brownish black. Twosmall yellowish round spots on dorsal side downwardsand backwards from dorsal fin origin. A round yellowishspot in between eyes. All the fins yellow tipped; Pectoraland pelvic fins light yellowish green to brownish yellow.Upper margin of pectorals have a thin yellow line. Anallight brownish to brownish yellow, but darker thanpectoral and pelvic. Dorsal fin darker than all otherfins. Minute black dots present on dorsal and pectoral,but more clear in dorsal. Other fins also have blackdots but indistinct. Adipose dorsal fin yellowish green;caudal fin brownish black. Longitudinal bands on thebody are yellow to yellowish green. Inner and outermandibulars yellow in colour; maxillaries yellowish green,tips of it pale yellow. After preservation in formalin, bodycolor turns to deep brownish black.

Comparisons.

Glyptothorax elankadensis exhibits well markeddifferences from all other species of Glyptothoraxresiding in the water bodies of India. The present speciesdiffers greatly from Glyptothorax madraspatanam(Day), known from Periyar, Chaliyar and Kabani riversof Kerala. Specimens of G. madraspatanam from ZSI,Kolkata, ZSI-SRC, Chennai, ZSI–WGRC, Calicut &KFRI, Peechi were examined and compared with thenew species. In G. madraspatanam, unlike the newspecies, skin smooth and upper surface of headgranulated (Vs. whole skin granulated in G.elankadensis), thoracic adhesive apparatus not welldeveloped and without a pit (Vs. adhesive apparatusdeveloped with a prominent median groove), coloryellowish with dark bands (Vs. yellow bands), finsprovided with black bands (Vs. fins without dark bands),dorsal spine serrated on both sides (Vs. only inner side

of dorsal spine serrated) and pelvic fin almost reachinganal fin (Vs. pelvic fin does not reach to anal) (Day,1878, 1889; Misra, 1976; Jayaram, 2006). Unlike thepresent species, in G. madraspatanam dorsal fin hasseven rays (Vs. seven to nine rays in the new species),eye diameter 6.5-6.8 (Misra, 1976) or 5.8 to 7.0(Jayaram, 2006) in head length (Vs. 13.0- 25.0), 1.1 to1.5 (Misra, 1976) or 1.1 to 1.8 (Jayaram, 2006) in interorbital width (Vs. 3.1- 7.0), 3.1 to 3.2 (Misra, 1976) or2.9 to 3.7 (Jayaram, 2006) in snout length (Vs. 6.5- 13.5)and width of mouth 2.0 in head length (Vs. 2.4- 2.8).

Glyptothorax davissinghi, a species describedfrom Chaliyar River (Manimekalan & Arunachalam,1998) differs greatly from G. elankadensis. Paratypesof the former from ZSI- SRC, Chennai examined welland compared with the new species. Unlike to presentspecies, in G. davissinghi, body is dark grey (Vs. lightbrownish to brownish green in the new species), withoutany longitudinal bands (Vs. three longitudinal bands),ventral side golden in colour (Vs. yellow to brownishblack) and tips of all fins white edged (Vs. tips yellow).(Manimekalan & Arunachalam, 1998). Besides, theiradhesive apparatus is reddish in color (Vs. adhesiveapparatus hyaline to whitish yellow) and with a distinctcentral pit (Vs. a groove present in the middle of thoracicapparatus and no pit), caudal fins are equal (Vs. unequalcaudal fins), dorsal fin spine strong (Vs. dorsal spineweak), serrated on posterior edge only (Vs. dorsal spineserrated throughout inner edge), dorsal fin rays are I, 6(Vs. III, 4- 6 in the new species), anal fin rays ii, 5 (Vs.i- iii, 7- 10), pectoral fin rays I, 9-10 (Vs. I, 8- 10) andcaudal rays 18 (Vs. 17) (Manimekalan & Arunachalam,1998; Jayaram, 2006). Moreover, their eye diameter9.3-10.7 (Vs. 13.0- 25.0 in G. elankadensis), height ofhead at occiput 2.0- 2.3 (Vs. 1.6- 1.7) in head length(Jayaram, 2006).

Glyptothorax elankadensis shows distinctdifferences to G. malabarensis collected fromValapattanam River of Kerala. Holotype and paratypesof the latter from ZSI-WGRC examined well andcompared with the new species. Unlike to the former,color of G. malabarensis in life consists of a blackbackground with three flesh red or orange transversebands on the body; in them nasal barbels extend toanterior orbital margin (Gopi, 2010); but nasals reachonly half way to eyes in the new species. Unlike thenew species, in G. malabarensis, body depth 19.6- 19.9(Vs. 15.6- 18.2 in new species), caudal peduncle length14.3- 14.7 (Vs. 16.9- 19.8), caudal peduncle depth 12.4-12.7 (Vs. 7.8- 8.2) all in percent of standard length and



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thoracic apparatus without a median depression (Vs.median depression present) (Gopi, 2010).

Glyptothorax anamaliensis distinctly differsfrom G. elankadensis in having three white transversebands on the body. In addition to it, skin on the head andbody of G. anamalaiensis is coarsely tuberculated.Adhesive apparatus of Glyptothorax anamaliensis ispoorly developed and is about as long as broad (Silas,1952a). Moreover, all the fins are tipped with white.Caudal fin lobes are equal in G. anamalaiensis but in G.elankadensis lower lobe of caudal a little broader thanupper lobe. Body proportions may also differ in both;unlike to G. elankadensis, body depth 6.0- 7.8 (Vs. 5.5-6.4), head length 3.9-4.3 (Vs. 4.0- 4.4) in standard length,eye diameter 2.0- 2.8 (Vs. 13.0- 25.0) in head length,6.0 in inter orbital width (Vs. 3.1- 7.0) and 1.7-2.0 (Vs.6.5- 13.5) in snout length, height of head at occiput 1.9-2.5 (Vs. 1.6- 1.7) and width of mouth 3.0 (Vs. 2.4- 2.8)in head length in G. anamaliensis (Silas, 1951; Menonand Yazdani, 1968; Jayaram, 1979, 2006). Specimens ofG. anamalaiensis from ZSI, Kolkata and ZSI-WGRCwere examined well and compared with the new species.

Glyptothorax lonah (Sykes) shows wellmarked difference to G. elankadensis. Color of G.lonah is grayish above and dirty white below (Beaven,1877; Day, 1889; Silas, 1952a; Misra, 1976). In them,unlike the present species, nasal barbels reach anteriormargin of orbit and outer mandibulars to gill openings;thoracic adhesive apparatus longer than broad andwithout a pit and occipital process reaches the basalbone of dorsal fin (Sykes, 1839; Misra, 1976; Jayaram,2006). Dissimilar to G. elankadensis, in G. lonah eyediameter 10 in head length (Vs. 13.0- 25.0), 3.0 in interorbital width (Vs. 3.1- 7.0), 5.0 in snout length (Vs. 6.5-13.5) and width of mouth 1.5 in head length (Vs. 2.4-2.8) (Misra, 1976; Jayaram, 2006). Specimens of G.lonah from ZSI, Kolkata were examined and comparedwith the new species.

Unlike the present species, in G. housei Here,skin on head and body smooth, nasal barbels extend tomiddle or beyond eyes, outer mandibulars to base ofpectoral spine or to base of first or second ray (Herre,1941; Menon, 1954; Misra, 1976; Jayaram, 2006). UnlikeG. elankadensis, thoracic adhesive apparatus broaderthan long, without a central depression, with edgesdeveloped over the whole surface except the posteriorend of the mid-ventral line in G. housei (Herre, 1941;Silas, 1952a; Misra, 1976; Jayaram, 2006, 2010). Unliketo the present species, in G. housei, body depth 6.2 to6.4 (Vs. 5.5- 6.4) in standard length, eye diameter 12.5

to 13.6 (Vs. 13.0- 25.0) in head length, 3.7 to 4.2 (Vs.3.1- 7.0) in inter orbital width and 5.7 to 6.3 (Vs. 6.5-13.5) in snout length (Misra, 1976; Jayaram, 2010).Moreover, in G. housei, dissimilar to the new species,head width 2.5 (Vs. 1.1- 1.2), height of head at occiput1.8 (Vs. 1.6- 1.7), and width of mouth 2.3 (Vs. 2.4- 2.8)in head length (Jayaram, 2006). G. housei fromKUFOS examined and compared with the new species.

Morphologically Glyptothorax elankadensisshows some differences to G. annandalei Hora.Specimens of G. annandalei from ZSI, Kolkata, ZSI–WGRC, Calicut and KFRI, Peechi were examined andcompared with the new species. In G. annandalei,unlike the present species, colour is dark grey abovebecoming lighter below, fins are yellowish with clusterof black dots at the base and margins of their fins arelighter (Hora, 1923; Silas, 1952a; Misra, 1976; Jayaram,2006). Unlike G. annandalei, an yellowish round spotpresent in between eyes in the new fish. Dorsal fin hasonly one unbranched ray (Vs. three unbranched dorsalrays in the present species), pectoral fin has ten rays(Vs. eight to ten rays), and anal fin has ten rays (Vs. 8-12) in G. annandalei (Hora, 1923; Misra, 1976; Jayaram,2006). In G. annandalei, unlike the new fish, occipitalprocess reaches the basal bone of dorsal fin and thoracicapparatus without a central pit, maxillary barbels reachthird or fourth pectoral ray (Vs. maxillaries just reachthe origin of pectoral), eye diameter 17.0 (Vs. Vs. 13.0-25.0) in head length, 4 to 5.0 (Vs. 3.1- 7.0) in inter orbitalwidth, 3.0 (Vs. 6.5- 13.5) in snout length and width ofmouth 2.5 (Vs. 2.4- 2.8) in head length (Hora, 1923;Misra, 1976; Jayaram, 2006).

Glyptothorax trilineatus Blyth of north Indianfresh water bodies resembles the presently describedspecies in the presence of three longitudinal lines on thebody (Jayaram, 2006, 2010). But in colour and positionof dorsal fin both differs. G. trilineatus differs from G.elankadensis in the number of fin rays; in the former,dorsal fin has one unbranched and 6-7 branched rays(Vs. 3 unbranched rays and 4-6 branched rays), pectoralfin has 1 unbranched and 10-11 branched rays (Vs. oneunbranched and 80- 10 branched rays) and anal fin has1 unbranched and 9-10 branched rays (Vs. i-iii, 7-10)(Misra, 1976; Jayaram, 2006). Unlike the presentspecies, in G. trilineatus, one dirty white longitudinalstreak present along the back from occiput to caudalbase, a second one along the lateral line and a third alongthe abdominal margin, pelvic fin reaching anal origin andcaudal lobes are equal (Day, 1878, 1889; Misra, 1976;Jayaram, 2006). In the Blyth’s cat fish, eye diameter



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Table 1: Morphometric Characters of Glyptothorax elankadensis (Holotype (HT) included in the range

Sl. No Characters H T Range Mean SD

1 Total length 136 124-137 132.3 7.232 Standard Length (mm) 110 101-115 108.7 7.09

Percentage of Standard length

3 Head length 23.6 22.6- 24.7 23.6 1.044 Head depth at occiput 15.0 13.0- 15.0 14.3 1.095 Head width at occiput 20.9 19.1- 21.8 20.6 1.366 Body depth at dorsal origin 18.2 15.6- 18.2 16.7 1.337 Body depth at anal origin 15.0 12.2- 16.3 14.5 2.138 Body width at dorsal origin 18.2 13.9- 18.8 16.9 2.669 Body width at anal origin 12.7 10.4- 13.8 12.3 1.7510 Pre-dorsal length 36.4 31.0- 36.4 33.8 2.7111 Post-dorsal length 68.6 54.4- 69.8 64.3 8.6012 Pre-pectoral length 19.5 19.5- 21.8 20.7 1.1613 Pre-pelvic length 48.2 45.2- 49.5 47.6 1.8014 Pre-anal length 65.9 63.5- 67.4 65.6 1.9815 Rayed dorsal fin length 19.1 19.1- 21.8 20.9 1.5716 Pectoral-fin length 21.8 20.9- 21.9 21.5 0.5717 Pelvic-fin length 17.3 17.3- 17.4 17.3 0.0618 Anal-fin length 17.3 16.8- 17.4 17.2 0.3019 Adipose dorsal height 16.4 8.7- 16.4 11.8 4.0220 Length of base of rayed dorsal 12.3 10.4 -12.3 11.2 0.9421 Length of base of adipose dorsal 10.0 10.0- 15.4 11.9 2.9722 Length of base of anal 13.6 13.0- 13.6 13.4 0.3023 Length of base of pectoral 9.1 7.8- 9.1 8.6 0.7024 Length of base of pelvic 5.5 4.3- 6.4 5.4 1.0525 DRD-AD 40.0 23.5- 40.0 33.0 8.5626 Caudal peduncle length 19.0 16.9- 19.8 18.6 1.4627 Caudal peduncle depth 8.2 7.8- 8.2 7.9 0.2028 Caudal peduncle width 6.4 5.4- 6.4 5.9 0.4829 Distance from anal to vent 5.5 4.9- 5.5 5.2 0.2530 Distance from ventral to vent 13.6 11.3- 13.6 12.6 1.2031 Head length (mm) 26 25.0- 26.0 25.7 0.58

Percent of head length

32 Head depth 63.5 57.7- 63.5 60.4 2.9233 Head width 88.5 84.6- 88.5 87.0 2.0934 Eye diameter 5.8 4.0- 7.7 5.8 1.8535 Snout length 53.8 50.0- 54.0 52.6 2.2536 Inter orbital width 30.8 23.8- 30.8 27.5 3.5037 Inter narial width 19.2 16- 2.1 19.4 3.5438 Width of gape of mouth 36.5 36.0- 42.3 38.3 3.5039 Length of maxillaries 88.5 84.8- 96.2 89.8 5.8040 Length of base of maxillaries 15.4 15.4- 23.1 18.2 4.2841 Length of nasals 15.4 15.4- 26.9 20.5 5.8842 Length of outer mandibulars 42.3 38.0- 46.2 42.2 4.0843 Length of inner mandibulars 23.1 23.1- 26.9 24.7 2.0044 Length of adhesive thoracic apparatus 57.7 57.7- 60.0 58.5 1.3345 Width of adhesive thoracic apparatus 43.3 38.5- 44.0 41.9 3.02



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7.5-9.7 in head length (Vs.13.0- 25.0 in G.elankadensis), 2.6 in inter orbital width (Vs. 3.1- 7.0),4.6 in snout length (Vs. 6.5- 13.5) and width of mouth1.0-1.5 in head length (Vs. 2.4- 2.8) (Misra, 1976;Jayaram, 2006). Specimens of G. trilineatus from ZSI,Kolkata were examined and compared with the newspecies.

Glyptothorax telchitta (Hamilton- Buchanan) of freshwaters of Bengal and Bihar can be differentiated fromthe present species in a number of characters. Unlikethe present species, in G. telchitta, maxillaries reachinganterior margin of eyes (Vs. maxillaries reach beyondeyes and reach origin of pectoral), thoracic adhesiveapparatus spindle shaped and without a depression (Vs.thoracic apparatus not spindle shaped but with a centralgroove), skin provided with bony tubercles (Vs. skinwithout tubercles) and fins, except caudal and adipose,with spotted bands (Vs. spotted bands absent on fins)(Hamilton- Buchanan, 1822; Hora, 1929; Misra, 1976;Srivastava, 1980; Qureshi & Qureshi, 1983; Jayaram,2006)

Comparative material

Glyptothorax anamalaiensis: ZSI/F 629/2, 630/2, 2specimens, Anamalai Hills, South India, coll. E. G. Silas;ZSI–WGRC F 18013, 42.5 mm SL; India, Tamil Nadu,Coimbatore Dist., Pollachi (a mountain stream[Bharatapuzha River drainage] at Varagiliyar), AnamalaiHills, Western Ghats. ZSI–WGRC F 18173 (2), 33.2–34.8 mm SL, India: Kerala, Kozhikode Dist., (a stream[Kuttiadi River] at Kakkayam), Western Ghats.

Glyptothorax annandalei: ZSI/F 230- 232, 3specimens, Rihand River at dam site, Pipri, Mirzapur dt,U. P; ZSI/F 226/2, Kosi River, Nepal, coll. ZSI scientistson Kosi Survey; ZSI–WGRC F 18867, 77.2 mm SL,India: Kerala, Wynad, Kalpetta (Kabani River [KaveryRiver drainage] at the base of Nilgiri Hills, WesternGhats; FF/KFRI/92, Bhoothattankettu, Coll. Shaji, C.P;FF/KFRI/101, Coll. Easa & Shaji, Sairandri.

Glyptothorax trilineatus: ZSI/F 238/2, PaunglaungChaung, tributary of Sittang River, Burma, coll. V. P.Sondhi.

Glyptothorax davisiinghii: ZSI- SRC 6076, 3 paratypes,89- 114 mm SL, India, Kerala, karimpuzha and itstributaries, Punnappuzha, Nilambur reserve forest, coll.D. F Singh, Mathew. K. Sebastin and A. Manimekalan,16.03.1995- 17.04. 1995.

Glyptothorax madraspatanam: ZSI/F 10272/1,Bhavani River, Nilgiris, coll. N. Annandale; ZSI/F/10273/1, 2 specimens, Mettuppalayam, Coimbatore Dt, coll.

N. Annandale; ZSI/F 12409/1, 1 specimen, CauveryRiver, Coorg, coll. C. R. Narayana Rao & S. Jones;10273/1 ZSI/F 13590/1, 1 specimen, a stream within aradius of 5 miles near Pampadumpara, Western Ghats,North Travancore, coll. C. R. Narayana Rao & S. Jones;ZSI-SRC 552, 1 example, 80 mm SL, India, Tamil Nadu,Kunthi River, Vellathodu, R. S. Pillai, 19/01/1979; ZSI–WGRC 11542, 97.5 mm SL; India: Kerala, PalakkadDist. Attapady (Bhavani River), Nilgiris, Western Ghats;FF/KFRI/70, Noolpuzha at Muthanga, Coll. Shaji & SajuAbraham.

Glyptothorax lonah: ZSI/F 212/2, 213/2, Mutha Riverat Nandera, Poona, Bombay, coll. M. suter; ZSI/F 12550/1, 2 specimens, coll. H. Errockohank.

Glyptothorax malabarensis: ZSI–WGRC 18343(Holotype), 55.2 mm SL; India: Western Ghats, Kerala,Kannur District: Pottichapara (11°58’12.4"N,75°49’38.7"E) in Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary (UruttyStream (210 mtrs amsl), Valapattanam River drainage);Paratypes: ZSI-WGRC 18344 (2), 42.0–42.1 mm SL;same data as holotype.

Glyptothorax housei: KUFOS/SILURI/SISO/GLYPTO/1, Coll. Jayachandran

Glyptothorax telchitta: ZSI/F 9735, 5374, Bilohum,Bihar, coll. Francis Day; ZSI/F 6887 & 6888, 7033, 3specimens, Hawai, Bara Banki, U. P, coll. M. M. Khan;ZSI/F 84/2, Rihand River, ZSI/F 221/2, Mohalpahari, ZSI/F 222/1, Kosi River, Nepal, coll. R. Budding.

Distribution: Manimala River, Kerala, India.

Etymology. The new species is named after thecollection locality of the holotype.

Acknowledgement

The first author (Mathews Plamoottil) acknowledges theUniversity Grants Commission of India for sanctioning facultyimprovement programme to undergo research. The authorsare grateful to the Principal, St.Thomas College Kozhencherryfor the facilities provided for the study.

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Received: 07-05-2012

Accepted: 14-10-2012


Education

Glyptothorax elankadensis a new species