Puntius Sanctus: a new freshwater fish found in Velankanni

  • IASbaba
  • May 28, 2020
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Puntius Sanctus: a new freshwater fish found in Velankanni

Part of: GS-Prelims and GS-III – Agriculture

In News:

  • Recently, Puntius Sanctus, a new freshwater fish, has been found in Velankanni, Tamil Nadu. 
  • It was found in a small waterbody.

Image source: The Hindu 

Key takeaways 

  • Sanctus means holy (pilgrim town) in Latin.
  • Species of Puntius are known from India mainly from the Western and Eastern Ghats and the Eastern Himalayas.
  • Puntius Genus:
    • The genus shows great species richness in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
    • The species are known locally as Paral in kerala and Kende in Tamil Nadu.
    • It belongs to the family ‘Cyprinidae’.
  • Puntius Sanctus:
    • It is a silver-hued fish.
    • It grows only upto to a length of 7 cm.
    • It is different from other species in terms of protractible (extended) mouth and a pair of maxillary barbels (a sensory organ near the snout).
  • Family Cyprinidae:
    • It is the family of freshwater fish. 
    • It includes the minnows, goldfish, bitterlings, barbs, and carps.
    • It ranges from small aquarium sized species to huge fish.
  • Puntius Sanctus has been deposited in the Zoological Survey of India at Pune.
  • It has also been registered with Zoo Bank of the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature, the official authority for naming animals.

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