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| Schistura scripta Sudasinghe, 2018 |
Abstract
Schistura scripta, new species, is described from Nakiyadeniya in the south-western lowlands of Sri Lanka. It can be distinguished from all other congeners from Sri Lankan and peninsular India by the combination of the following characters: an incomplete lateral line with 53–76 pores, ending beneath the dorsal-fin base or slightly beyond; 7–13 post-dorsal bars; 7½ branched dorsal-fin rays; absence of an axillary pelvic lobe; and absence of a suborbital flap.
Keywords: Pisces, Schistura notostigma, Schistura madhavai, biodiversity hotspot, microendemism
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| FIGURE 1. Variability of coloration in Schistura scripta in its natural habitat, not collected. Sri Lanka, Seethala Dola, Nakiyadeniya, Gin River basin. A–C, adults, over 35 mm SL; D, adult male. |
Schistura scripta, sp. nov.
Etymology. The species-name is a reference to the pattern of bars on the side of the body of this species
resembling alphabetical characters; scripta, Latin, ‘written words’.
Hiranya Sudasinghe. 2018. A New Species of Schistura (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae) from the south-western lowlands of Sri Lanka. Zootaxa. 4422(4); 89–100. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4422.4.2
