Garra nambashiensis

Garra nambashiensis Latest News

Researchers recently discovered a new species of freshwater fish, Garra nambashiensis, in Manipur.

About Garra nambashiensis

• It is a new species of freshwater fish which belongs to the Labeonine family.
• It was discovered in Taretlok, a tributary of the Chindwin River, near Nambashi Valley in Manipur’s Kamjong district.
• It was collected from “swift-flowing riffles (shallow sections of a river or stream) with algae-covered gravel beds and mixed substrate comprising cobbles, boulders, pebbles, sand, fine silt, and coarse sediments.
• The species features a quadrate-shaped proboscis, 7-8 acanthoid tubercles on the anterolateral margin, black spots on the opercle, 8-11 dorsal-fin scales, and six black stripes extending to the hypural plate.
• It typically measures 90-140 mm (9-14 cm), and locals call it Nutungnu.
• Currently, 60 species of Garra have been recorded from various river systems in the Northeast, encompassing the Eastern Himalayan and Indo-Burma regions. 
  • Of these, 32 are grouped in the ‘proboscis species group’ and occur in the Chindwin, Brahmaputra, Barak, and Kaladan river systems. 
  • Eight species have been recorded from the Chindwin river system alone, including the recently described G. chingaiensis.

Source: NEN

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