Garra chindwinensis , a New Species of Cyprinid Fish (Teleostei: Cypriniformes) from Manipur, Northeastern India

Abstract

The labeonine cyprinid genus Garra are elongate, small to medium-sized, bottom-dwelling fishes usually found in hill streams and fast flowing rivers, where they adhere to the rocky bottom surface with the help of highly modified lower lip, acting as sucker (Zi-ming et al., 2009). It is widely distributed from the northern and central Africa to Southeast Asia through the Middle East, Southern China and South Asia. So far, nineteen species of the genus Garra are reported from the headwaters of the ChindwinIrrawaddy in India and Myanmar of which 8 species viz., G. bispinosa, G. cornigera, G. elongata, G. gravelyi, G. litanensis, G. rotundinasus, G. qiaojiensis and G. trilobata bear proboscis on the snout (Shangningam and Vishwanath, 2015). A collection of fishes from the Laniye River, a tributary of the Chindwin River in Senapati District of Manipur, included an undescribed species of Garra with a proboscis, which are herein described as G. chindwinensis. Material and Methods