Abstract
A new species of stone loach Balitora laticauda is described from the Krishna River, northern Western Ghats, India. It differs from all known species of the genus in a combination of characters including: 10 transverse bands on the dorsal surface, deeper caudal peduncle, two prominent rows of papilla encircling upper lip where the proximate row has small papillae while distal row has larger papillae, 66-68 lateral line scales, 8-9 simple rays in pectoral fin, two simple rays in the pelvic fin and pectoral fin not surpassing pelvic fin base. The new species also differs from its related species in the ratios such as caudal peduncle length to depth (2.21-2.89), standard length to body depth (7.48-8.72), head length to head depth (2.11-2.50), head length to interorbital distance (2.20-2.96), head depth to head length (0.42-0.47), eye diameter to head length (0.13-0.17) and head width to gape of mouth (3.12-4.78). As percent of standard length B. laticauda sp. nov. differs from other related species with respect to caudal peduncle depth (6.3-7.4%), caudal peduncle length (15.0-20.0%), body width at anus (8.7-11.5%), body depth at anus (9.1-11.4%), pre-dorsal fin length (43.7-47.4%), pre-pectoral fin length (12.9-16.2%), pre-anal fin length (74.3-79.3%), pre-pelvic fin length (44.4-48.3%), pelvic fin length (19.3-23.7%), pectoral fin length (24.1-28.9%) and body depth at dorsal (11.5-13.4%).
Highlights
Hill stream stone loaches of genus Balitora (Cypriniformes: Balitoridae) are distributed in South and South-East Asia and are currently represented by 18 species
This article forms part of a special series on the Western Ghats of India, disseminating the results of work supported by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), a joint initiative of l’Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank
Subunits of body are presented as percent of standard length (SL) and subunits of head are presented as percent of head length (HL)
Summary
Hill stream stone loaches of genus Balitora (Cypriniformes: Balitoridae) are distributed in South and South-East Asia and are currently represented by 18 species. The first species described in this genus, Balitora brucei Gray, 1830, is distributed in northern and northeastern India. The other known species from India, Balitora mysorensis Hora, 1941 was described from the Cauvery River system. Other species in this genus B. eddsi. This article forms part of a special series on the Western Ghats of India, disseminating the results of work supported by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), a joint initiative of l’Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank. Implementation of the CEPF investment program in the Western Ghats is led and coordinated by the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)
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