Puntius rohani (Teleostei: Cyprinidae), a new species of barb in the Puntius filamentous group from the southern Western Ghats of India

Abstract

Puntius rohani, a new species of cyprinid fish, is described from the Kanyakumari District, southern India. This species can be distinguished from the other members of the Puntius filamentosus Group by the combination of the following characters: the absence of vertical black bands near the tips of the caudal fin; the presence of an elongate black club-shaped blotch 1.5 scales high extending from the 12-13th lateral-line scales to the caudal-fin base; and possessing 2-3+6-9 gill rakers on the first gill arch, 21-23 lateral-line scales, seven predorsal scales, ½4+1+3-3½ scales in transverse line from the dorsal-fin origin to the mid-ventral scale row, and 2-2½ scales between the lateral line and the pelvic-fin origin.