A fishy discovery

Two new species of freshwater fish show up in the Western Ghats, but do they have a future?

Collaborative research by Indian and British zoologists has found two new species of freshwater fish in India’s Western Ghats region. Dario urops, a yellow-beige fish with greyish fins, was found in a tributary of the vallapatanam river in Karnataka and Kerala – surprising as it belongs to s family only found in north east India. Pristolepis rubripinnis, an olive green fish with yellow green markings on its head, was found in pampa and Chalakudy Rivers in Kerala. While the discoveries augment the rich biodiversity of the Western Ghats, with almost 189 endemic freshwater species recorded so far, ichthyologists caution that conversation status of these species is increasingly vulnerable. Threats include pollution, residential, and commercial development, and the species’ exploitation for aquariums  




source: GEO MAGAZINE