Abstract
Rita bakalu, a new species, is described from the Godavari river system in peninsular India. With this finding, the genus Rita is enlarged to include seven species, comprising six species found in South Asia, R. rita, R. macracanthus, R. gogra, R. chrysea, R. kuturnee, R. bakalu, and one species R. sacerdotum from Southeast Asia. R. bakalu is distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following characters: eye diameter 28–39% HL and 20–22 caudal fin rays; teeth in upper jaw uniformly villiform in two patches, interrupted at the midline; palatal teeth well-developed villiform, in two distinct patches located at the edge of the palate. The mtDNA cytochrome C oxidase I sequence analysis confirmed that the R. bakalu is distinct from the other congeners of Rita. Superficially, R. bakalu resembles R. kuturnee, reported from the Godavari and Krishna river systems; however, the two species are discriminated due to differences in the structure of their teeth patches on upper jaw and palate, anal fin originating before the origin of adipose fin, comparatively larger eye diameter, longer mandibular barbels, and vertebral count. The results conclude that the river Godavari harbors a different species of Rita, R. bakalu which is new to science.
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