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| Pangio pathala Sundar, Arjun, Sidharthan, Dahanukar & Raghavan, 2022 |
Abstract
A second subterranean species of Pangio is described from an old dug-out well in Kerala, Southern India. The new species, Pangio pathala is unique within the genus in possessing the highest number (27) of caudal vertebrae. Pangio pathala is distinguished from P. bhujia, the only subterranean Pangio species known so far, in having four pectoral-fin rays (vs. three), five anal-fin rays (vs. six), 67 vertebrae (40 abdominal and 27 caudal vertebrae) (vs. 62–63), and a raw genetic distance of 8.1–8.7% in the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 gene. This paper also provides an additional record of Pangio bhujia from a location 40 km south of the type locality.
Keywords: Pisces, freshwater fish, groundwater, Taxonomy, Western Ghats
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| Pangio pathala holotype (KUFOS.FT.2020.1, 32.1 mm SL) in life |
Pangio pathala, new species
Etymology. The species name is based on the Sanskrit word pâtâla, which means ‘below the feet’, denoting the subterranean realms of the universe—which are located under the earth’s surface. A noun in apposition.
Remya L. Sundar, C.P. Arjun, Arya Sidharthan, Neelesh Dahanukar and Rajeev Raghavan. 2022. A New Diminutive Subterranean Eel Loach Species of the Genus Pangio (Teleostei: Cobitidae) from Southern India. Zootaxa. 5138(1); 89-97. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5138.1.9
To Find the Fish, Find the People: How Scientists Came Upon the Pathala Eel Loach
