Puntius nelsoni

Puntius nelsoni (common name: Travancore yellow barb) is a species of fish in the family Cyprinidae. The species was discovered in 2011, named and described by Mathews Plamoottil from the Baby John Memorial Government College, Chavara, Kollam, Kerala in 2014 in the International Journal of Fauna and Biological Studies. It was collected from Kallumkal region of Manimala River in Kerala, India (Western Ghats), with a running length of 92 km only and it empties into the Vembanad Lake. Puntius nelsoni is named after Nelson P. Abraham of St. Thomas college, Kozhencherry .^[1][2]

Distribution

Puntius nelsoni is so for known only from Manimala River which has its origin in Western Ghats Muthavara Hills (2500 feet above main sea level). There is a good chance of finding them in Pamba River also the holo type ZSI/WGRC/IR/23 collection location was in kallumkal of Thiruvalla region which is the merging point of Manimala river in to pamba.^[3]

Description

The holotype ZSI/WGRC/IR/23 and 3 Paratypes ZSI/ WGRC/ IR/ 2354 was found on the kallumkal region of manimala river near thiruvalla in pattanamthitta district on August 21, 2011. This Puntius fish can be distinguished from the rest of the species by the combination of following unique characteristics such as a smaller snout, maxillaries feeble are short and never reach orbit, nostrils inserted in the middle of orbit and snout tip, head deeper, wider mouth gape, having a wider head and snout shorter. Five and half scales between lateral line and dorsal fin, have 25- 26 lateral line scales and three and half scales between lateral line and ventral fin.^[4] The holotype ZSI/WGRC/IR/23 collected has a total tail to snout length of 91 millimeter. Generally the body is elongated in nature and with a laterally compressed form.

Habitat

Puntius nelsoni's habitat is typically blanketed by mud dominant sediments and sand only occur as bare patches within.

Coloration

Body of the fish is yellowish as well as all the fins,^[5] at the summit of occiput there is a bluish green mark, and there is many fine black dots forming a thin band in gill covering (In most of the scales in the gill covers there is a collection of black shade), a unique golden/reddish brown scarlet mark occurs on gill covers and it don't have the usual spot at the base of back fin in many puntius species. End of the caudal fin is dusky in color (a scattered black patch is present in caudal base). Back of the head is greenish yellow in color.^[3]

References