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This subterranean fish was observed inhabiting an open water body during a survey conducted in September 2011, over the paddy fields and water sources feeding paddy fields, at Perambra (10.34°N, 76.30°E), Thrissur District. These mildly flowing waterways, with an average width of 60 cm and water depth ranging from 40 to 70 cm, converged into a nearby pond located in the paddy fields. K. shajii was found mainly hiding between the submerged vegetation present on the sides of the water body. The aquatic and semi-aquatic plants, roots of trees and decaying litter provided refuge to this fish, as well as reduced the stress of water flow. This fish was dark reddish-brown in colour to perfectly camouflage with the habitat. This fish was abundant in this site as it was available in almost all scoops of the hand net. Only five fishes were collected live and two were fixed in formalin and preserved in 75% ethyl alcohol for further analysis. Other individuals caught in the net while collecting other species were released safely back to their natural habitat. Individuals ranging in size from 290 to 580 mm were available in this site.
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2012. Occurrence of Kryptoglanis shajii, an enigmatic subterranean-spring catfish (Siluriformes, Incertae sedis) in the channels of paddy fields.
Vincent, M. & Thomas, J. 2011. Kryptoglanis shajii, an enigmatic subterranean-spring catfish (Siluriformes, Incertae sedis) from Kerala, India. Ichthyological Research, 58 (2): 161-165. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10228-011-0206-6