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| Devario ahlanderi Kullander & Norén, 2022 |
Abstract
Specimens of Devario from a tributary to the Salween River in Myanmar initially identified as Devario browni but with a different colour pattern, were subjected to a comparative morphological analysis with syntypes and other specimens of D. browni from near its putative type locality. The Salween sample was recognised as representing a distinct species, here named Devario ahlanderi. No significant morphometric differences were found between D. ahlanderi and D. browni. The type series of Devario ahlanderi differed from D. browni and most other species of Devario in the presence of 14 vs 12 circumpeduncular scale rows. Devario ahlanderi, D. browni, and D. fangae shared subadult colour pattern. Adult D. ahlanderi differed from adult D. browni in the trunk colour pattern, consisting of rows of dark blotches or short vertical bars. In D. browni, the flank colour pattern consisted of horizontal dark stripes, the middle of which (the P stripe) frequently diverged anteriorly, enclosing a small light blotch. Specimens previously reported as D. browni from the upper Salween River basin in Yunnan differed slightly in colour pattern, and may represent a distinct species. Devario ahlanderi shared spotted colour pattern with that of one ontogenetic state in D. kysonensis, except that a row of spots marking the P-1 stripe in D. kysonensis was absent in D. ahlanderi. The minimum genetic distance between D. ahlanderi and congeneric species varied from 2.1 to 5% in the mt-coI gene.
Key words: colour pattern, freshwater, morphology, South Asia, species discrimination, taxonomy
Devario browni (Regan, 1907)
Revised definition. Distinguished from all other species of Devario by the shape of the P stripe: gradually ex-panding posteroanteriorly, either forming a uniform brown blotch anteriorly, or P stripe diverging anteriorly, forming a brown blotch enclosing a small light spot or two contiguous small light spots.
Geographical distribution and habitat. The type locality of Devario browni is not known, but was probably near Lashio in the upper Irrawaddy River basin. Specimens from streams near Lashio were identified as D. browni (Appendix 1). Presence of D. browni in the upper Salween River basin in Yunnan was not confirmed. Devario shanensis was syntopic with D. browni near Lashio (Appendix 1).Other syntopic fish species were identified as Opsarius barnoides, Pethia stoliczkana, and Danio roseus.
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| Devario ahlanderi. All from Myanmar, Shan State, Salween River basin. A, holotype, NRM 57999, adult female, 65.2 mm SL; stream close to Naung Al Village, about 6 miles (9 km) east of Kak-ku. B, paratype, NRM 58062, adult male, 56.9 mm SL, same locality as holotype; C, paratype, NRM 58061, adult female, 55.6 mm SL; small stream running under Naung Pic bridge near Naung Pic Village, on the way from Kak-ku to Taunggyi. |
Devario ahlanderi, new species
Definition. Distinguished from all other species of Devario by the modification in adults of the anterior half of the P stripe into a series of short irregular bars or spots.
Explanation of the specific name: The specific name is a noun in the genitive case. The species is dedicated to Erik Åhlander, long time Senior Assistant in the ichthtyology and herpetology collection of the Swedish Museum of Natural History, and a key person in the successful development and operation of ichthyology at the NRM.
Sven Kullander and Michael Norén. 2022. The Real Devario browni from the Irrawaddy River basin, and the new Devario ahlanderi from the Salween River basin in Myanmar (Teleostei: Cyprinidae: Danioninae). Zootaxa. 5100(1); 54-72. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5100.1.2
