Eechathalakenda incognita:
A team of scientists recently discovered a new fish species named Eechathalakenda incognita from Western Ghats of Kerala.
- Eechathalakenda incognita is a new species of fish belonging to the cyprinid subfamily Torinae.
- It was discovered from various streams inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala.
- The genus Eechathalakenda was originally established in 1999 for a solitary, enigmatic fish species first described in 1941 from the Pamba River in Kerala.
- This newly described species had been confused with Eechathalakenda ophicephala for the last 70 years.
- However, it is visually and genetically distinct from Eechathalakenda ophicephala.
- While ophicephala sports rhomboid-shaped scales, the new species features circular scales near its upper body, alongside a unique dark lateral stripe, a different count of fin rays, and a substantial 4.9%-5.3% genetic variation.
- Their geographic distributions are exceptionally narrow; E. ophicephala is strictly confined to Pamba river headwaters, while E. incognita is isolated to specific fast-flowing, rocky streams inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve.
- incognita is the ninth point-endemic fish species (restricted to a single location in the world) to be identified within the Periyar Tiger Reserve.
