Occurrence of the genus Amblyceps Blyth (Teleostei: Amblycipitidae) from the Indo-Bhutan streams of the Brahmaputra drainage of Assam, India

Abstract

Three species of the genus Amblyceps, namely, A. apangi, A. arunachalensis, A. mangois are described from Kanamakra and Langkhar (26°45?0? ? 26°48?0?N and 90°35?0? ? 90°40?0?E) hill streams of Chirang district of Assam. The torrent catfishes are distinguished within the genera on the basis of their general appearance of the body and the caudal fin structure, adipose fin, eye diameter, inter-orbital space, fold on lip and number of vertebrae. The caudal peduncle height for A. apangi (12.36 ? 12.73% SL), A. mangois (14.25 ? 15.36% SL) and A. arunachalensis(10.01 ? 11.42% SL), caudal peduncle length for A. apangi (20.29 ? 20.87% SL), A. arunachalensis (22.00 ? 22.11% SL) and A. mangois (19.09 ? 19.31% SL) and other taxonomic details of the congeners with their distributional status are discussed.