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| Channa pomanensis
Gurumayum & Tamang, 2016
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ABSTRACT
This paper describes a new species of Channa from the Poma River (Brahmaputra River basin) in Papum Pare district of Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India. The new species can be differentiated from its congeners occurring in Eastern Himalayan region in India and northern and southern Rakhine State, Myanmar in having the following combination of characters: 7 oblique bands on body, generally extending to lateral line; a thin preorbital streak; black to brown and broad to thin postorbital streak confluence with brown to dusky cross band running across the occipital region; light brown spots (somewhat elongate) scattered along the flank, mostly below lateral line (more distinct in live); presence of two cycloid scales on either underside of lower jaw; absence of numerous large black spots on postorbital region of head and opercle; transverse scale rows above lateral line 4½–5½; transverse scale rows between lateral line and anal-fin origin 7½–8½; pelvic fins present; lateral line scales 47–51; dorsal-fin rays 36–38; anal-fin rays 25–26; total vertebrae 42–45; and predorsal scales 7–8.
Key words: snakehead, new species, taxonomy, Poma River, Brahmaputra basin.
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| Figure 3: A, Channa pomanensis, ZSI/APRC P-1066, holotype, 111.6 mm SL; India, Arunachal Pradesh, showing live coloration. B, Channa gachua, ZSI/APRC P-1437, 95.6 mm SL; India: Assam: Sonitpur district: Boroi River at Boroighat (Brahmaputra basin) |
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| Figure 1: Channa pomanensis, ZSI/APRC P-1066, holotype, 111.6 mm SL; India, Arunachal Pradesh, showing: A. dorsal view; B. lateral view; C. ventral view. |
Distribution:– At present only known from the Poma River (Brahmaputra basin) about 12 km towards west to Itanagar, Papum Pare district, Arunachal Pradesh.
Etymology:– The new species is named after the Poma River from where the species was collected, Papum Pare district, Arunachal Pradesh.
Shantabala Devi Gurumayum and Lakpa Tamang. 2016. Channa pomanensis, A New Species of Snakehead (Teleostei: Channidae) from Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India. Species. 17(57); 175-186
