Table Of Content.
Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, 102 (2), May-Aug 2005 195-197
NEWDESCRIPTIONS
SALARIAS RETICULATUS (PISCES: BLENNIDAE), A NEW FRESHWATER BLENNY
FROM CHALAKUDY RIVER, KERALA (SOUTH INDIA)1
B. Madhusoodana Kurup23 T.G. Manojkumar2 4andK.V. Radhakrishnan2-5
,
'Accepted December, 2002
’School of Industrial Fisheries, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Cochin 682 016, Kerala. India.
’Email: [email protected]
’Email: [email protected]
’Email: [email protected]
GenusSalariasDay(1878)hasbeenrecordedfromthefreshwatersoftheIndiansubcontinentforthefirsttimewiththe
description of a new species Salarias reticulatus from the Vettilappara region of Chalakudy river system, Kerala
(southernIndia). Thenewspeciescaneasilybediagnosedbythedistinctvariationsin morpho-meristiccharactersand
colourpatternfrom species hithertodescribed. The species name isderivedfrom its reticulatedcolourpattern.
Key words: Salariasreticulatussp. nov.. Blennidae,Chalakudy river,Vettilappara
INTRODUCTION nostril, with 6filaments at its base. Nocrestonthe headand
the pre-opercle has a posteriorprojection.
FamilyBlennidaecomprisesfivegeneraaccommodating Description: (based on a single specimen with
mm
30 species; all the genera are distributed in Indian waters 100.71 SL.)(Fig. I)
(Day 1878).Amongthefivegenera,Salarias(Cuvier)hasthe D.xii, 15;P.14;V.2;A.18;C.12.
greatest number of species, i.e. 18. Members of the genus Ventralprofileofbodymoreconvexthandorsal.Length
Salarias can be differentiated from other related genera by ofhead4.84, ofpectoral 5.72,ofcaudal 5.23,heightofbody
the wide gill openings, single row of movable teeth in the 6.00 times in the total length. Body depth 4.9 in standard
jaws and by the absence ofa sucker beneath the lowerjaw length. Eyeshigh up,diameter5.2 in head lengthand 20.6in
(Day 1878). Hitherto there is norecordofblennies from the standardlength. Diameterofeye less than snout length (1.1)
freshwaters ofthe Indian subcontinent. While investigating andheadlength(5.2),buthigherthaninter-orbitalwidth(0.52).
the fish fauna ofChalakudy river system, we came across a Snout length 18.5 and inter-orbital width 32.9 in standard
singlespecimenofblenny,whosemorphometricandmeristic length. Head depth 1.2 in head length, width ofthe snout a
characters were found to be totally different from species littlehigherthanthepost-orbitallength(0.96).Asinglerowof
hithertodescribed. We have, therefore, describedit asanew incisor-likemovableteethoneachjawandastrongposterior
species. canineoneachsideofthelowerjaw.Gillopeningscontinuous
from one side of the head to the other, across the ventral
MATERIALAND METHODS surface ofthe head. Branchiostegalrays six.
Fins: Dorsal fin with 12 spines and 15 rays, deeply
The type locality of the new species is Vettilappara, notched,thefirstlowerthanthe second, whichisnearlyViof
Chalakudy river, Kerala, South Indiabetween 10° 17' 32" N bodyheight,whileposteriorlyitdoesnotextendtothecaudal
and76°34'66"E. Morphometricmeasurementswererecorded fin. Length ofdorsal 1.38 in standard length and 1.71 inTL.
withdialcalliperstothenearestmillimetre,andexpressedas Lengthofpectoralfin0.97 inheadlengthand3.8 in standard
proportion of standard length. Meristics were counted length.
followingTalwarandJhingran(1991). Length ofpelvic fin 6.00 in standard length (SL) and
Holotype: DepositedinZSI Kozhikode,Regn.No.: ZSI 7.4 in TL. Origin of anal fin opposite to origin of second
(WGRS) CLT. No. V/F 13031. 100.71 mmSL, Vettilappara, dorsalfin. Distancefrompelvictoanal3.06inSL.Caudalfin
Chalakudyriver,Kerala,India,26.i.2001 with 12rays,middleraysposteriorlybranched.Pre-anallength
Paratype:None. 1.9 in SL and pre-dorsal 4.36 in SL. Lateral line complete,
Diagnosis:Elongated,bodywithirregularreticulations forming an angle beyond 8th dorsal spine. Scales totally
andcircularinterspaces,oblongmouth,strongpectoralgirdle absent.
andleatheryskin.Ventralsjugular,havingtwoflexiblespines. Colouration: Head blackish, body and fins, except
Amoderatelylongfringedsupraorbitalcirrus,asimplecirrus ventral, reticulated with brown lines enclosing circular or
at nape and another short one at the posterior rim of the irregularly formed spaces. Reticulation more prominent on
NEW DESCRIPTIONS
Scale- 1 cm I
0 1 2
Fig. 1: Salariasreticulatussp. nov. -Lateralview
lateral andventral sides.Ventral sidefromsnouttiptoorigin anal fin andcolourpattern (Table 1).
ofanal fin whitish without any prominent markings. Ventral Day (1889)describedFamily Blennidaewith7genera
finhyalinewithblackishtinge. and37species. Ofthese,25 weredescribedfromIndiaunder
Etymology: The specific name is derived from the thegenusSalarias(Cuvier 1817). DeBeaufortandChapman
reticulus pattern on the dorsal side. (1951) described 20 species under the genus Salarias from
Remarks: Salarias reticulatus sp. nov. shows close the Indo-Australian Archipelago. However, Salarias
similaritywithS. venniculatusandS. marmoratus,butdiffers marmoratus described by Day (1878) was not given
strongly from them in most ofthe morphometric characters independent status by these authors and the specimens
andmeristiccounts,namelynumberofcaudalraysandventral collected from Sri Lanka were treated as a synonym of
spines, length of head to total length, height ofthe body to E. eplazeochilos. S. marmoratus ofGray was synonymised
total length, presence of supra-orbital cirri, position of the underEntamocorcluslighti,E. decussates E. caudofasciatus
,
and E. striatus. Similarly, a change in the generic status of
ofTSaabllaeri1as: Croetmipcaurlaitsuosnspo.fnmoov.r,phSo.mveetrrmiiccualnadtumsearinsdtiSc.cmhaarrmacotreartsus S. vermiculatus was also made by describing it as
Entamocorclus vermiculatus. The new speciesS. reticulatus
Characters S. reticulatus S. vermiculatus S. marmoratus shows distinct variation from S. sinuosus (De Beaufort and
sp. nov. Chapman 1951) and S. periopthalmus (De Beaufort and
Chapman 1951) in most of the morpho-meristic characters
1. Numberof 12 11 11
suchasthenumberofdorsal andanalfinrays,colourpattern
caudal rays
2. Numberof 2 2 3 andinthenatureofattachmentofanalfinrayswiththecaudal
ventral spines peduncle. According to Munro (1955), Family Blennidae
3. Lengthofhead 4.85 5-5.5 4.75 accommodated8generaand 16species,whereasFischerand
tototallength Bianchi 1984)described98 speciesfromthewesternIndian
(
4. Pectorallength 5.72 5.5 -
tototallength Ocean in 29generaunderthisfamily. Pillay (1929)reported
5. Caudallengthto 5.23 6 7.5 four species, namely Salarias steindachaeri, S. kirki
totallength S. bilitonensis and S. unicolor from the coastal waters of
6. Heightofthe 6.00 5-5.5 5.5 Travancore. However, hitherto there has been no report on
bodytototal the occurrence of Salarias species in freshwaters of India.
length
The description of a new species of blenny from the
7. Length of Longer Longer Equalto
supra-orbital than eye than eye eye Vettilappara region ofChalakudy river in the present study
cirri diameter diameter diameter increases the numberofspecies ofthis family from 98 to 99
8. Positionofthe Opposite Alittlein - andalso supports Day's (1878) view that some blennies can
analfin to second advance of extendtheirgeographicalrangeofdistributiontofreshwater.
dorsal second
According tohim, this peculiardistribution pattern happens
dorsal
9. Colourpattern Bodyand Bodyand Brownish due to the migration undertaken by these species upstream
fins except fin reticu- yellow duringheavyfloods,againstthefloodwaters,inthemonsoon
ventrals lated with months, and a sudden subsidence thenceforth may result in
reticulated brown line theirbeingtrapped in isolatedpools on the mainland. Those
196 J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 102 (2), May-Aug 2005
NEW DESCRIPTIONS
fishwhichcansurviveinthenewhabitatwilllaterreachtheir Dr. K. Rema Devi and Dr. T.J. Indra for their sincere effort
original habitat along with subsequent floodwaters. indifferentiationofthenewspeciesfromotherSalariasspp.
Financial support from the NAT-ICAR Project is
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS thankfully acknowledged. We also thank Prof. (Dr.)
C. Hridayanathan, Director, School of Industrial Fisheries
We sincerely thanktheOfficer-inchargeandscientists for facilities. Deep gratitude is extended to C.P. Sunil
of ZSI for help in the identification of the new species, KumarandM.D.Mahesan,whoassistedtheteamforthesurvey.
REFERENCES
Cuvier, (1817): RegneAnim. II: 251 pp. Sea Slug Forum, Australian fishery purposes. Western Indian Ocean (Fishing area 51).
Museum,Sydney. Food and Agriculture Organisation ofthe United Nations, Rome.
Day, F. (1878): The Fishes ofIndia, being a natural history ofFishes Pp. 1-9.
known to inhabit the seas and fresh waters of India, Burma and Munro, I.S.R. (1955): The marine and freshwater fishes of Ceylon.
Ceylon, Dawson, London. Pp. i-xx+553-779. Dept, of External Affairs, Canberra. 349 pp.
Day,F. (1889):TheFaunaofBritishIndia,Ceylonand Burma.Fishes. Pillay, R.S. (1929): A list offishes taken in Travancore. J. Bombay
Vol. II: 509 pp. Taylor and Francis, London. Nat. Hist. Soc. 33(2): 347-379.
De Beaufort, L.F. & W.M. Chapman (1951): The Fishes ofthe Indo- Talwar, PK. & A.G. Jhingran (1991): Inland fishes of India and
AustralianArchipelago.Vol.9: 484pp.E.J. Brill,Leiden,Holland. adjacentcountries.Oxford&IBHPublishingCo.Ltd.,NewDelhi.
Fischer,W.&G. Bianchi(1984): FAOspeciesidentificationsheetsfor Vols. I & II. 1158 pp.
J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 102 (2), May-Aug 2005 197
