Punitus Sanctus: New Freshwater Fish

• 26 May 2020

Why in News

Recently, Puntius Sanctus, a new freshwater fish, has been found in Velankanni, Tamil Nadu. It has been found in a small waterbody.

• The fish has been identified and named by the Department of Zoology, BJM Government College in Kollam. Sanctus means holy (pilgrim town) in Latin.
• Species of Puntius are known from India mainly from the drainages of the Western and Eastern Ghats, as well as the Eastern Himalayas.

Key Points

• Puntius Genus:
  
  • The genus shows great species richness in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
  • The Puntius species are known locally as Paral in kerala and Kende in Tamil Nadu.
  • It belongs to the family ‘Cyprinidae’.
• Puntius Sanctus:
  
  • It is a silver-hued fish. The species is small in size and grows to a length of 7 cm.
  • It is different from other species.
    
    • It has a protractible (extended) mouth, a pair of maxillary barbels (a sensory organ near the snout).
    • It bears lateral line scales and pre-dorsal scales.
      
      • The lateral line scales are found within the dermis i.e. under the skin of a fish and usually have sense organs.
      • The dorsal scale row in a fish consists of a series of deep scales devoid of spines.
• Cyprinidae:
  
  • It is the family of freshwater fish, collectively called cyprinids, that includes the minnows, goldfish, bitterlings, barbs, and carps.
  • It ranges from small aquarium sized species to huge fish.
  • Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in freshwater, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. E.g. Rohu, Katla, Hilsa etc.
• The new fish has been deposited in the Zoological Survey of India at Pune.
• It has also been registered with Zoo Bank of the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature, the official authority for naming animals.

Zoological Survey of India

• It is a subordinate organization of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and was established in 1916.
• It is a national centre for faunistic survey and exploration of the resources leading to the advancement of knowledge on the exceptionally rich faunal diversity of the country.
• It has its headquarters at Kolkata and 16 regional stations located in different geographic locations of the country.

International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature

• It regulates a uniform system of zoological nomenclature ensuring that every animal has a unique and universally accepted scientific name.
• It creates and revises the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.
• It is based in the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore.

Source: TH