A New Species of Pethia from the Western Ghats, India (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) Author(s): V. M. Atkore, J. D. Marcus Knight, K. Rema Devi, and J. Krishnaswamy Source: Copeia, 103(2):290-296. Published By: The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1643/OT-12-172 URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1643/OT-12-172 BioOne (www.bioone.org) is a nonprofit, online aggregation of core research in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences. BioOne provides a sustainable online platform for over 170 journals and books published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses. Your use of this PDF, the BioOne Web site, and all posted and associated content indicates your acceptance of BioOne’s Terms of Use, available at www.bioone.org/page/terms_of_use. Usage of BioOne content is strictly limited to personal, educational, and non-commercial use. Commercial inquiries or rights and permissions requests should be directed to the individual publisher as copyright holder. BioOne sees sustainable scholarly publishing as an inherently collaborative enterprise connecting authors, nonprofit publishers, academic institutions, research libraries, and research funders in the common goal of maximizing access to critical research. Copeia 103, No. 2, 2015, 290–296 A New Species of Pethia from the Western Ghats, India (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) V. M. Atkore1, J. D. Marcus Knight2, K. Rema Devi3, and J. Krishnaswamy1 Pethia striata, new species, is described from the Tunga River in Kudremukh National Park, in the central part of the Western Ghats, Karnataka State, India. The new species is distinguished from its congeners by the combination of the following characters: absence of barbels; stiff and serrated last unbranched dorsal-fin ray; complete lateral line with 20–21 pored scales and a relatively small humeral spot one scale below the fourth lateral-line scale; a large black blotch covering lateral-line scales 17–19. In addition, the outer edges of body scales are dark, producing a striped pattern along the sides of the body. Pethia striata, new species, is presently known only from headwater-streams of the Tunga River basin. P ETHIYAGODA et al. (2012) distinguished the genus Pethia (type species Barbus nigrofasciatus, from Sri Lanka) from other genera of Cyprinidae by the last unbranched dorsal-fin ray being stiff and serrated, infraorbital 3 being deep and partially overlapping the preoperculum, the absence of rostral barbels, minute or no maxillary barbels, an often incomplete lateral line, black blotch on the caudal peduncle, black blotches, spots, or bars on the side of the body. The genus, which is restricted to South Asia, includes 28 valid species (Pethiyagoda et al., 2012; Dishma and Vishwanath, 2013; Knight, 2013; Katwate et al., 2014a, 2014b; Lalramliana et al., 2014). In this paper, we describe a new species belonging to the Pethia ‘‘conchonius group’’ (Kullander, 2008), in which the last unbranched dorsal-fin ray is serrated, maxillary barbels are absent, and the lateral line incomplete. This group includes the ubiquitous Pethia ticto. Just as ‘Puntius’ was recognized as a ‘‘catch-all’’ genus for a diverse group of small tropical Asian cyprinids, the species ‘P. ticto’ Hamilton (1822), described from Bengal, remained a ‘‘catch-all’’ for all the small species of barbs with an osseous and serrated dorsal spine, two black markings on the body (i.e., a humeral spot and a posterior blotch), a complete or incomplete lateral line, and lacking maxillary barbels (Knight et al., 2012). Numerous species conforming to this description, encountered elsewhere in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka, have been referred to as Pethia ticto, and thus this species is considered to have a wide distribution across this region. Day (1865, 1871) described two species resembling P. ticto as P. punctata and P. stoliczkana, from Cochin and Darjeeling, respectively. Though Day (1878) gave a clear description of P. ticto and distinguished it from the two similar-looking species described by him, based on the presence of an incomplete lateral line (vs. a complete lateral line in the other two species), these species were often placed in the synonymy of P. ticto by later workers. Hora (1937) and Hora et al. (1939) treated P. stoliczkana and P. punctata as synonyms of P. ticto, whereas Silas (1952) considered P. stoliczkana and P. punctata to be subspecies of P. ticto. Jayaram (1991), in his revision of the genus Puntius, once again brought Pethia stoliczkana and P. punctata under the synonymy of P. ticto. Menon et al. (2000) recognized P. stoliczkana and P. punctata as two 1 distinct, valid species. The species were described in detail and definitively distinguished by Linthoingambi and Vishwanath (2007). Recent studies on this group of fishes have led to the descriptions of several new species such as P. manipurensis (Menon, Rema Devi, and Vishwanath, 2000), P. muvattupuzhaensis (Beevi and Ramachandran, 2005), P. atra (Linthoingambi and Vishwanath, 2007), P. khugae (Linthoingambi and Vishwanath, 2007), P. pookodensis (Mercy and Jacob, 2007), P. nigripinna (Knight, Rema Devi, and Arunachalam, 2012), P. aurea Knight, 2013, P. expletiforis (Dishma and Vishwanath, 2013), P. rutila Lalramliana, Knight, and Laltlanhlua, 2014, P. longicauda Katwate, Paingankar, Raghavan, and Dahanukar, 2014 and P. lutea Katwate, Katwate, Raghavan, Paingankar, and Dahanukar, 2014. Here, we report and describe a new species of Pethia from the Tunga River in Kudremukh National Park, from the Western Ghats, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS The specimens collected were fixed in 10% formalin, and subsequently preserved in 70% ethanol. Methods for making counts and measurements follow Kullander (2008) except where mentioned otherwise. Measurements were made with digital calipers to the nearest 0.1 mm. Standard length (SL), head length (HL), and snout length are taken from the tip of the snout to the caudal-fin base, posterior opercular margin, and anterior orbital margin, respectively. Subunits of body are expressed as percentage of standard length (SL), and subunits of head are expressed in proportions of both head length and standard length. Numbers in parentheses after a count denote the frequency of that count. Predorsal, prepelvic, and preanal lengths are taken from the tip of the snout to the anterior base origin of each fin. Body depth is taken at the origin of the dorsal fin. Dorsal, pectoral, pelvic, and anal fin lengths are taken from the base of the first ray of the respective fin to the tip of its longest ray. Caudal-peduncle length is taken from the base of the last anal-fin ray to the hypural notch (middle of the base of the caudal fin). Lateral-line scale counts include scales on the caudal-fin base. Scales in the lateral row equate to the lateral-line scale count. However, when the lateral Suri Sehgal Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Royal Enclave, Srirampura, Jakkur post, Bangalore-560064, India; E-mail: (VMA) freshwater.biologist@gmail.com; and (JK) jagdish@atree.org. Send reprint requests to VMA. 2 Flat ‘L’, Sri Balaji Apartments, 7th Main Road, Dhandeeswaram, Velachery, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600042, India; E-mail: jdmarcusknight@ yahoo.co.in. 3 No. 16, First Canal Cross Road, Gandhi Nagar, Adyar, Chennai–600 020, Tamil Nadu, India; E-mail: remadevi_zsi@yahoo.com. Submitted: 18 December 2012. Accepted: 12 December 2014. Associate Editor: D. Buth. F 2015 by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists DOI: 10.1643/OT-12-172 Published online: May 4, 2015 Atkore et al.—New species of Pethia Fig. 1. Pethia striata, paratypes, male and female, ZSI/SRC F8729. line is abbreviated, it includes the lateral-line scales as well as the posterior scales in the same horizontal row. Prepelvic scales are counted along the ventral midline from the head to the base of the pelvic fin, but excluding the 1–2 successively smaller scales between the pelvic-fin bases. The last single ray in the dorsal and anal fin is not counted as a separate element. The specimens have been registered in the collections of the Southern Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Chennai (ZSI/SRC). Pethia striata, new species Kudremukh Barb Figures 1, 2; Table 1 Holotype.—ZSI/SRC F8728, 30.9 mm SL, India, Karnataka, Chikmagalur District, Tunga River basin, Balipehalla, Mudba stream, 13u1892.26740N, 75u7932.4480E, 735 m ASL, V. Atkore, 3 April 2011. Paratypes.—ZSI/SRC F8729, 4, 22.2–33.1 mm SL, India, Karnataka, Chikmagalur District, Tunga River basin, Mele Siralu, Turad stream, 13u1895.54340N, 75u991.04340E, 800 m ASL, V. Atkore, 9 March 2011. Diagnosis.—Pethia striata is distinguished from its congeners by the combination of the following characters: lateral line complete, with 20–21 pored scales up to tail fin base; upper 291 half of body dark brown; outer edges of body scales dark, forming oblique bars, giving a distinct striped pattern along the side in both sexes; dorsal fin dark with a pale outer margin; dorsal, pectoral, pelvic, and anal fins tinged with black; caudal fin hyaline; black humeral spot one scale below the 4th lateral-line scales, a larger black blotch 3–4 scales high covering the 17th to 19th lateral-line scales, and only 2 scales between this blotch and the hypural notch. Pethia striata is distinguished from P. conchonius by the presence (vs. absence) of a humeral spot. It differs from Pethia aurea, P. ticto, P. bizonatus, P. phutunio, P. nigripinna, P. pookodensis, P. manipurensis, and P. longicauda in the presence of a complete (vs. incomplete) lateral line. It can be further distinguished from Pethia ticto, P. punctata, P. stoliczkana, P. manipurensis P. muvattupuzhaensis, P. rutila, P. longicauda, P. expletiforis, and P. aurea by its scales in the lateral series (20–21, vs. 22–26 in P. ticto, 23–24 in P. punctata, 21–24 in P. stoliczkana, P. manipurensis, and P. muvattupuzhaensis, 21–22 in P. rutila, 22–24 in P. longicauda, 21–23 in P. expletiforis, and 26–27 in P. aurea). Pethia striata can also be distinguished from P. ticto, P. stoliczkana, P. pookodensis, P. manipurensis, P. rutila, P. aurea, P. lutea, and P. expletiforis by its fewer transverse scales, 3 scales between lateral-line scale row and ventral fin (vs. 5K in P. ticto and P. stoliczkana, K5/1/3–3K in P. aurea; and 3K in P. manipurensis, P. pookodensis, P. rutila, P. aurea, P. lutea, P. expletiforis, and P. longicauda). The location of the humeral spot on the body also distinguishes P. striata from superficially similar congeners. The humeral spot is present on the scale below the 4th lateral-line scale, vs. 4th–5th scale below the lateral line in P. punctata and P. muvattupuzhaensis, whereas the humeral spot is present on the scale below the 3rd and 4th lateral-line scales in P. rutila. In the case of P. lutea, a humeral band covers the 3rd and 4th lateral-line scales. In P. longicauda, a fairly dark black humeral spot covers the 3rd and 4th lateral-line scales and extends to one scale above the lateral-line. The larger posterior blotch, covering lateral-line scales 17–19 is more in the shape of a band, surrounded by a golden ring around the caudal peduncle and the base of the caudal fin, compared with a clear spot, not forming a band, in P. ticto, P. stoliczkana, P. manipurensis, P. pookodensis, P. rutila, and P. expletiforis. In addition, the new species possesses eight predorsal scales, compared to seven in P. setnai, nine in P. stoliczkana P. manipurensis, P. aurea, P. expletiforis, and P. longicauda, eight or nine in P. rutila, and 9–10 in P. ticto. The pigmentation of P. striata differs from that of P. setnai: the former species possesses a smaller humeral spot, restricted to a single scale (vs. 2–3 scales wide and 3–4 scales Fig. 2. Pethia striata, new species, holotype, ZSI/SRC F8728, 30.9 mm SL, India, Karnataka, Chikmagalur Districts, Tunga River basin. 292 Copeia 103, No. 2, 2015 Table 1. Morphometric data for the holotype and four paratypes of Pethia striata, new species. Character Standard length (mm) % SL Head length Head depth Post orbital distance Predorsal distance Dorsal to hypural distance Body depth Caudal peduncle length Caudal peduncle depth Snout length Eye diameter Interorbital width Internarial width % HL Snout length Eye diameter Interorbital distance Internarial distance Holotype Range 30.9 22.2–33.1 26.8 23.9 12.6 62.1 49.8 46.6. 18.1 20.0 7.7 11.3 11.3 7.1 26.8–30.6 23.2–26.1 10.5–14.4 56.7–62.1 47.3–55.4 40.0–46.6 15.4–18.1 19.3–21.0 6.6–10.0 11.1–15.7 10.3–12.1 6.3–7.1 28.561.4 24.561.0 12.661.5 58.762.2 50.463.1 44.262.6 16.761.2 20.160.6 8.761.4 12.6–1.8 11.060.7 6.760.3 28.9 28.9 42.1 26.5 23.2–34.5 23.2–34.5 33.8–42.4 22.0–26.5 30.664.6 30.664.6 38.963.9 23.761.8 high in P. setnai) and lacking a gray patch below the dorsal fin (prominent in the latter). Pethia striata differs from two similar northeast Indian fishes viz. Puntius phutunio and Puntius bizonatus, in the presence of two spots, a humeral spot and a caudal-peduncle blotch, vs. four spots on the body in P. phutunio (Vishwanath and Laisram, 2004), the humeral spot replaced by a transverse bar on the 3rd and 4th scales in P. bizonatus (Vishwanath and Laisram, 2004). Puntius bizonatus was described from Lokchao in Moreh River from the state of Manipur, India but it was omitted by Pethiyagoda et al. (2012). Pethia striata can further be distinguished from P. phutunio in having eight predorsal scales, vs. nine predorsal scales, and from P. bizonatus in having 2+3–4 gill rakers on the first gill arch, vs. 5+15–18 in the latter (Vishwanath and Laisram, 2004). The other small barbs from northeastern India that can be compared to P. striata are P. shalynius, P. atra, and P. khugae. However, all three species are readily distinguished by the absence of a humeral spot vs. presence in P. striata. Pethia striata can further be distinguished from P. shalynius by the presence of a single blotch on the caudal peduncle vs. two and eight predorsal scales vs. 9–10 in the latter. Pethia striata can also be distinguished from P. atra and P. khugae by the lesser number of lateral-line scales (20–21 vs. 25–29 and 28– 30 in P. atra and P. khugae, respectively) and by possessing three scales between the lateral line and the ventral-fin origin vs. 5K scales in P. atra and P. khugae (Linthoingambi and Vishwanath, 2007). The characteristic dark longitudinal band present in both P. atra and P. khugae (Linthoingambi and Vishwanath, 2007) is absent in P. striata. Similarly, Pethia striata can be distinguished from its Sri Lankan congeners, P. cumingii and P. reval, in having K4+1+3 transverse scales vs. K3+1+3K in the latter two species. Moreover, P. striata differs from P. cumingii and P. reval in having a small humeral spot covering only one scale compared to the wider bar-like humeral mark being three scales wide in P. cumingii and P. reval. Further, the dorsal fin of male P. striata is black, while the dorsal fins in P. cumingii and P. reval are either yellow or red (Meegaskumbura et al., 2008). Mean±SD Description.—Morphometric data are presented in Table 1. General appearance is shown in Figures 1 and 2. Body deep, laterally compressed, dorsal contour ascending anteriorly, with a low indentation at nape, slightly convex, anterior to dorsal-fin origin, tapering gradually posterior to dorsal-fin base; ventral profile of body equally convex anterior to pelvic-fin origin, curving gently up to anal-fin origin, then sloping upward toward caudal peduncle; caudal peduncle deep, its least depth a little less than its length, concave in both dorsal and ventral profiles; Head small and snout rounded; mouth subterminal, lateral fold on snout present; barbels absent; lips thick and U-shaped; eye large, placed in the upper half of head; eye diameter about 30% HL; dorsal fin with 1 simple and with 8 branched rays, the simple ray strongly serrated posteriorly; dorsal-fin origin slightly behind pelvic-fin origin, midway between tip of snout and base of caudal fin; pelvic fin with 1 simple and 8 branched rays; anal fin with 3 simple and 5 branched rays; pectoral fin with 1 simple and 11(1), 12(3), or 13(1) branched rays; pectoral and pelvic fins short, not reaching pelvic and analfin origins, respectively; caudal fin with 19 principal rays (1+9+8+1), deeply forked; lateral line complete with 20(3) or 21(2) scales including those on the caudal-fin base; transverse scales from dorsal-fin origin to ventral-fin origin K4+1+3(5); predorsal scales 8(5); prepelvic scales 9(5); 18(5) circumferential scales; 10(4) or 11(1) circumpeduncular scales; pelvic axillary scale present, its length less than half length of pelvic fin; gill rakers 2+3–4 on first gill arch; gill rakers simple. Coloration in life.—Adult male specimens reddish with melanophores on posterior edges of scales, forming eight to nine oblique bars about a half-scale wide, giving a distinct striped appearance on sides of body, fading toward abdomen (Fig. 1). Dorsal fin pigmented black with yellow posterior margin. Pectoral and pelvic fins red, caudal fin pale yellow. In contrast, adult female specimens grayish with the oblique bars not as prominent as in males (Fig. 1). A black humeral spot one scale below the 4th lateral-line scale. Larger black Atkore et al.—New species of Pethia blotch, 3–4 scales high, covering 17th to 19th lateral-line scales, falling on line behind the 4th branched anal-fin ray, with a golden ring around it, more prominent on the anterior and ventral sides of the blotch. Live coloration of both sexes shown in Figure 1. Coloration in preservative.—Ground color of adult specimen is yellowish white with dark brown dorsum and sides with 13–14 rows of prominent oblique bars along the anterior two thirds of the body, which fade toward the ventral side with a few pigments along the oblique rows. Snout grayish. Lower part of head yellowish white. Dorsal fin in male is smoky with faint blackish spots and a dark distal margin. Dorsal fin strongly pigmented in females. Distal surface of anal fin slightly smoky to blackish. Caudal, pectoral, and pelvic fins hyaline to light gray. Humeral marking prominent. A dark brown blotch on the caudal peduncle vertical from posterior end of anal-fin base, generally oval in shape as it continues as a faint band toward the dorsum. The stripes just anterior to the caudal peduncle blotch are light grayish as are those posterior to the blotch. Caudal peduncle blotch covers 2 or 3 scales (usually scales 16–19 along the lateral row) and parts of scales above and below. Etymology.—The species name is an adjective, striata (Latin) 5 striped, a reference to the unique pattern of this fish. Distribution and habitat.—This species is currently known from the upper reaches of Tunga River basin, in two headwater streams, namely the Mudba (3rd stream order) and Turad (4th stream order) on 1:50,000 scale on the Survey of India toposheet (4–6 km apart) situated in the Kudremukh National Park of Karnataka State in the Western Ghats (Fig. 3). This region is typically dominated by wet evergreen and semi-evergreen forest with montane grasslands and receives up to 6000 mm of annual rainfall (Krishnaswamy et al., 2006). Pethia striata was observed in small groups of three or four individuals in shallow pools beneath dense riparian canopy. They were often observed with other cyprinid species such as Puntius sahyadriensis and Dawkinsia arulius. A few juveniles were also observed with Pethia setnai in shallow pools. The type locality was a pool-riffle sequence in a small gently flowing clear water stream with a pH of 6.1 and water temperature of 25.5uC. The width and depth of the stream at the type locality were 7 m and 0.6 m, respectively. The approximate flow velocity of the run-riffle sequence just below the type locality was 0.2 m/s. Pethia striata was collected in an altitude range between 660–910 m ASL. Land vegetation was dominated by Ochlandra sp., Ficus sp., and Elaeocarpus tuberculatus, providing 80% shade (Fig. 4). The substrate consisted of leaf litter mostly with Lagenandra sp., bamboo leaves, and clay. Some of the species encountered commonly at the type locality were Devario malabaricus, Salmophasia boopis, Garra mullya, Barilius canarensis, Barbodes wynaadensis, Tor khudree, Dawkinsia arulius, Puntius sahyadriensis, Osteochilus nashii (Cyprinidae), Batasio sharavatiensis (Bagridae), and Nemacheilus denisoni (Nemacheilidae). DISCUSSION Many species of Puntius sensu lato are harvested for the ornamental-fish trade due to their striking coloration and small size (Collins et al., 2012). Currently some 220 nominal and 120 valid species have been included in the genus 293 (Pethiyagoda et al., 2012). Pethiyagoda et al. (2012) revised the South Asian members of the genus Puntius based on a combination of external morphology, osteology, and molecular studies and showed that they represent at least five lineages recognizable as distinct genera, including two existing genera, viz. Puntius and Systomus, and three new genera, viz., Pethia, Dawkinsia, and Dravidia (a homonym in Diptera, for which Pethiyagoda (2013) provided the replacement name Haludaria), of which Pethia represents 28 species. The genus Pethia is characterized by small size (usually less than 50 mm SL); its stiff and serrated last unbranched dorsal-fin ray; absent rostral barbels; maxillary barbels minute; black blotch on the caudal peduncle partially in front of the posterior anal-fin base (here referred to as the posterior blotch); and black blotches, bars, or spots on the sides of the body that clearly distinguish it from Puntius sensu stricto which has the last unbranched dorsal-fin ray weak or strong and smooth; lateral line complete, with 22– 28 pored scales. Menon et al. (2000), while describing Puntius manipurensis, showed that there are a number of species that resemble P. ticto with two spots on the body, including P. punctata (Day, 1865) and P. stoliczkana (Day, 1871). More recently, species such as P. muvattupuzhaensis (Beevi and Ramachandran, 2005), P. pookodensis (Mercy and Jacob, 2007), P. atra (Linthoingambi and Vishwanath, 2007), P. khugae (Linthoingambi and Vishwanath, 2007), P. nigripinna (Knight, Rema Devi, and Arunachalam, 2012), P. aurea Knight, 2013, Pethia expletiforis (Dishma and Vishwanath 2013), Pethia rutila (Lalramliana et al., 2014), Pethia lutea (Katwate et al., 2014a), and Pethia longicauda (Katwate et al., 2014b) and were added to this species group (Knight et al., 2012). Pethia striata is currently known only from the Kudremukh National Park, located in the central part of the Western Ghats, India. The drainages in the central Western Ghats are relatively less-well explored and are believed to harbor undescribed species (Dahanukar et al., 2011). Recently, Glyptothorax kudremukhensis was described in the upper reaches of Mudba stream of the Tunga River basin (Gopi, 2007). Our description of Pethia striata suggests that this basin may hold many more undescribed fish species and therefore deserves increased survey efforts, especially in the headwaters. MATERIAL EXAMINED The material for the present study represents recent collections from the Western Ghats by V. A. Pethia striata were sexed based on coloration: live males were reddish; females were yellowish gray. Pethia conchonius: ZSI/SRC F4827, 2, 35–42 mm SL, Brahmaputra River, Assam, Lal Mohan. Pethia manipurensis: ZSI/SRC F8550, 4, 54.0–62.0 mm SL, Loktak Lake, Manipur, W. Vishwanath, April 1995. Pethia muvattupuzhaensis: ZSI/SRC F8465, 5, 39.0–45.0 mm SL, Muvattupuzha River, Kerala, Zeena, 8 September 2010. Pethia nigripinna: ZSI/SRC F6628, holotype, 45.0 mm SL, Kalinadhi stream of river Kabini, Wayanad, Kerala, India, M. Arunachalam, 21 September 2002; ZSI/SRC F6629, paratypes, 3, 33.0–38.0 mm SL, Kalinadhi stream of river Kabini, Wayanaad, Kerala, India, M. Arunachalam, 21 September 2002; ZSI/SRC F6578, 2, 34.0–39.0 mm SL, elevation 1000 m, 294 Copeia 103, No. 2, 2015 Fig. 3. Distribution of Pethia striata in the Kudremukh National Park, central Western Ghats, India. Kakkanhalla, Moyar River, Tamil Nadu, India, G. Thirumalai, 15 February 1992. Pethia phutunio: PCJDMK 045, 20, 14.0–19.0 mm SL, Ponds in Udayrampur Village, P. S. Bishnupur, south 24 Parganas District, West Bengal, Andrew Rao, February 2011. Pethia pookodensis: Paratypes, ZSI/SRC F7636, 21, 26.0–42.0 mm SL, Pookode Lake, Kerala, Eapen Jacob, November 2004. Pethia punctata: ZSI/SRC F8272, 3, 38.0–40.0 mm SL, Mangai Malai, Kulasekaram, Kanyakumari WLS, Aengals, 21 December 2008; ZSI/SRC F8545, 2, 40.0–42.0 mm SL, Pookode Lake, Kerala, Anna Mercy; ZSI/SRC F4339, 13, 29.0–37.0 mm SL, Mathalamparai, Tirunelveli District, Ravichandran, 17 March 1995. Pethia setnai: ZSI/SRC F6127, 10, 18.0-40.0 mm SL, Kukke Subramanya, Karnataka, G. Thirumalai, 15 April 1999; ZSI/ SRC F8544, 3, 36.0–41.0 mm SL, Stream in Agumbe, P. K. Pramod, January 2008; ZSI/SRC F6113, 1, 39.0 mm SL, Sowparnika River, G. Thirumalai, 13 April 1999. Pethia shalynius: ZSI/SRC F7150, 1, 40 mm SL, Ri-bhoi district, Meghalaya-Asssam border, S. K. Das, 2002. Pethia ticto: ZSI/SRC F8546, 3, 16.0–18.0 mm SL, Barjuri Dhan Shree River, D. K. Gupta, 23 November 1994; ZSI/SRC F6630, 5, 24.0–33.0 mm SL, Kulsi River, Lal Mohan, 4 November 1994; ZSI/SRC F6579, 3, 47.0–60 mm SL, Megna River; ZSI/SRC F8547, 5, 27.0–36.0 mm SL, D. K. Gupta, 14 November 1994; ZSI/SRC F8548, 2, 46.0–48.0 mm SL, Dibrugarh ox bow lake, D. K. Gupta, 24 November 1994; ZSI/SRC F8549, 1, 37.0 mm SL, Atkore et al.—New species of Pethia 295 Fig. 4. Balipehalla, type locality of Pethia striata in the Mudba stream of Tunga River basin. Nimati Ghat, Majuli, Brahmaputra River, West Bengal, D. K. Gupta, 22 November 1994. 8a. 4K–5K scales between lateral-line scale row and ventral fin P. ticto 3K scales between lateral-line scale row and 9 ventral fin 13–14 rakers on the first ceratobranchial P. longicauda 5–6 rakers on the first ceratobranchial P. pookodensis _____________________________________________________________________ 8b. __________________________________________________________________________________ KEY TO THE SPECIES OF PETHIA IN THE WESTERN GHATS 1a. 1b. 2a. 2b. 3a. 3b. 4a. 2 Humeral spot present P. conchonius Humeral spot absent 3 Lateral line complete 7 Lateral line incomplete 4 Humeral spot on lateral line 5 Humeral spot small, one scale below lateral line Caudal peduncle blotch covering 16th to 18th lateral-line scales P. setnai Caudal peduncle blotch covering 17th to 19th lateral-line scales P. lutea P. punctata Dorsal fin with rows of spots 6 Dorsal fin without spots Caudal peduncle blotch between 17th–19th lateralline scale and 20–21 lateral-line pored scales P. striata, new species Caudal peduncle blotch between 19–21st lateralline scale and 24–25 lateral-line pored scales P. muvattupuzhaensis P. nigripinna Lateral line with 21 scales or less 8 Lateral line with 22 or more scales ________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________ _____ _____________________ ______________________________________________________ __________ __________________________________________________________ 6b. __________ ___________________________________________________________ 7a. 7b. 9b. __ ____________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ 5a. 5b. 6a. __________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ __________________________________ _____________________________________________________ 4b. 9a. ___________ _________________________________ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work forms a part of VA’s doctoral dissertation at the Academy of Conservation Science and Sustainability Studies at Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Manipal University, Karnataka State. We sincerely thank Director of ATREE for his support and encouragement, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests & Wildlife, Bangalore and Dy. Conservator of Forests Kudremukh National Park, Karnataka Forest Department for granting research collection permit (Letter No. D.WL.CR148/2009-10 and Letter No. A3/CR/38/Research/2010-11 dated 21 September 2010 and Letter No. D/WL/CR-148/ 2012-13 dated 14 May 2013) to carry out this study. VA thank R. Ranjit Daniels, Managing trustee of Care Earth Chennai, for imparting an informal training on the Fish Systematics in the beginning of this study, S. Agarwal who helped with the map, K. Shanker and H. Shridhar, Indian 296 Institute of Sciences (IISc), Bangalore for their rigorous review and constructive suggestions on an earlier version of this manuscript. VA thank Range Forest Officers of Kerekette and Kudremukh, Hariprasad, Jaynarayanan, Chandre Gowda, Appasab, Seshappa, Laxman, Dharanappa, Nagraj, Manjunath, Pramod, Kantaraj, and other forest staff for their help during the fieldwork. VA greatly acknowledges Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited and its staff at Kudremukh township for its logistic support. This work was supported by Ravi Sankaran Fellowship of Inlaks Foundation, Mumbai, Idea Wild, USA, International Foundation for Science (Grant No: A/5209-1), Sweden and Suri Sehgal Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation of ATREE, Bangalore. LITERATURE CITED Collins, R. A., K. F. Armstrong, R. Meier, Y. Yi, S. D. J. Brown, R. H. Cruickshank, S. Keling, and C. Johnston. 2012. Barcoding and border biosecurity: identifying cyprinid fishes in the aquarium trade. PLoS ONE 7:e28381. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0028381 Dahanukar, N., R. Raghavan, A. Ali, R. Abraham, and C. P. Shaji. 2011. 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