Balitora chipkali, Kumkar, Pradeep, Katwate, Unmesh, Raghavan, Rajeev & Dahanukar, Neelesh, 2016

Kumkar, Pradeep, Katwate, Unmesh, Raghavan, Rajeev & Dahanukar, Neelesh, 2016, Balitora chipkali, a new species of stone loach (Teleostei: Balitoridae) from the northern Western Ghats of India, with a note on the distribution of B. laticauda, Zootaxa 4138 (1), pp. 155-170 : 157-160

Balitora chipkali , sp. nov.

Common name: Chipkali stone loach ( Figs. 1 , 2 )

Holotype: BNHS FWF 193, 47.7mm SL, India: Karnataka, Astoli River, Kali River system, Ramnagar (15.430°N, 74.480°E, 630m a.s.l.), coll. P. Kumkar and S. Gosavi, 23-Feb-2014.

Paratypes: BNHS FWF 195 (39.8mm SL) and WILD-15-PIS-228 (42.9mm SL), same data as holotype; BNHS FWF 194 (43.0mm SL), WILD-15-PIS-229 (43.1mm SL) and ZSI-WRC P/4782 (43.6mm SL), India: Karnataka, Kali River system, Chandewadi, Joida (15.381°N, 74.403°E, 575m a.s.l.), coll. P. Kumkar, S. Gosavi and S. Tapkir, 27-Mar-2014; WILD-15-PIS-230 (36.5mm SL) and ZSI-WRC P/4781 (50.6mm SL), India: Karnataka, Kali River system, Kamra, Joida (15.342°N, 74.441°E, 670m a.s.l.), P. Kumkar, S. Gosavi and S. Tapkir, 27-May-2014; ZSI- WRC P/4780 (45.9mm SL), India: Karnataka, Kali River system, Ramagar (15.430°N, 74.480°E, 630m a.s.l.), P. Kumkar and S. Gosavi, 23-Feb-2014; WILD-15-PIS-252 (51.4mm SL), Chandewadi, Joida, Kali River (15.381°N, 74.403°E, 575m a.s.l.), N. Dahanukar, U. Katwate and P. Kumkar, 5-Feb-2016; BNHS FWF 196 (29.0mm SL), India: Karnataka, Kali River system, Kamra, Joida (15.342°N, 74.441°E, 670m a.s.l.), N. Dahanukar, U. Katwate and P. Kumkar, 28-Jun-2014 (c&s).

Additional material. BNHS FWF 269–270, 2 ex. (34.4–38.9mm SL), India: Karnataka, Kali River system, Kamra, Joida (15.342°N, 74.441°E, 670m a.s.l.), P. Kumkar, S. Gosavi and S. Tapkir, 27-May-2014 (both c&s).

Diagnosis. Balitora chipkali differs from all its congeners based on a combination of characters including the possession of only a single maxillary barbel on each corner of the gape, upper lip with 9–12 papillae in first series and 3–8 papillae in second series, lower lip with 6 papillae, eye diameter greater than 15% HL, gape of mouth less than 30% HL, short snout (49.6–57.6% HL) with snout length less than 4 times eye diameter, body depth less than 15% SL, deep caudal peduncle (6.9–7.8% SL), caudal peduncle length-to-depth ratio less than 3.0, 66–68 lateral line scales, 11 caudal vertebrae excluding compound centrum, third infraorbital sensory-canal tube straight, pharyngobranchial 2 greatly reduced, posterior ceratohyal more than 80% of the length of the anterior ceratohyal and almost round; 7 dorsal saddles, not reaching lateral irregular crossbar markings.

Description. Morphometric data provided in Table 1 . General body shape as in Fig. 1 ; details of head as in Fig. 2 .

Body elongate, sub-cylindrical, compressed dorsally anterior to dorsal-fin origin, compressed laterally posteriorly; dorsal profile convex, deepest at dorsal-fin origin, ventral profile straight. Body wider than its depth at dorsal-fin origin, deeper than wide at anus. Head small, less than one-fourth SL, depressed, longer than broad, with prominent tubercles on cheeks, lateral and ventral surface of head up to base of pectoral fin, and a distinct row on anterodorsal margin of orbit; tubercles on snout small, indistinct. Eyes small, dorso-laterally positioned in posterior half of head, not visible from underside of head. Snout oblique, rounded. Nostrils positioned dorso-laterally, closer to anterior border of eye than to snout tip, skin flap divides anterior and posterior nares. Mouth inferior, a deep groove between rostral fold and upper lip. Lips fleshy. Gape of mouth less than half head width at nares. Barbels three pairs, two rostral: outer rostral barbels longer than inner ones; one pair of maxillary barbels, situated at the angle of mouth. Lips papillated, upper lip with two rows of papillae, an outer row with 8(1), 9*(4), 10(3), 11(2) or 12(1) large papillae and an inner row of 3(2), 4(1), 5(2), 7(2) or 8*(4) small papillae. Lower lip with 8*(11) papillae, with two median inner papillae elongated ( Fig. 2 ). Gill opening extending vertically from lower third of the eye to vertical from one-third gape of mouth.

Body with scales throughout except head and ventral surface anterior to anal-fin origin. All scales keeled at their posterior border. Lateral line complete, curving slightly upward at posterior border of pectoral-fin base. Lateral-line scales 66 (3), 67*(5) or 68 (2). Caudal peduncle slender, its length 2.8* (2.0–2.8) times its depth. Vertebrae 34 (3) comprising of 4 Weberian + 18 abdominal + 11 caudal + 1 compound centrum ( Fig. 3 ).

Dorsal-fin origin vertical from pelvic-fin origin, closer to tip of snout than to caudal-fin base; its anterior margin straight, slightly curved at tip, with iii (10) simple and 8½ (10) branched rays. Paired fins horizontally orientated, base with tubercles on dorsal side. Pectoral fin elongated, longer than head, its anterior margin thickened, curved, a distinct gap between its posterior border and pelvic fin origin; with viii (3) or ix* (7) simple rays and 11* (7) or 12 (3) branched rays. Simple rays of pectoral fin with thick cushion-like longitudinal pads on the ventral surface. Pelvic-fin length equal to or slightly shorter than head length; fin origin closer to snout tip than to end of caudal peduncle, its posterior end reaching anus, with ii (10) simple and 9 (10) branched rays, simple rays padded. Anal fin with iii (10) simple and 5½ (10) branched rays. Caudal fin emarginate, its lower lobe longer than upper.

Coloration. In preserved specimens ( Fig. 1 ), body beige to light brown dorsolaterally; pale white to yellow ventrally; one narrow brown band on nape, followed by 7 brown, almost round, saddles on dorsal surface, with two anterior to dorsal fin, one at posterior half of dorsal-fin base and four posterior to dorsal-fin base; dorsal saddles do not reach lateral irregular crossbar markings; numerous narrow, irregular, brown crossbars present along lateral line; head dorsolaterally light brown, pale white to yellow ventrally, with brown patches on head and snout; base of pelvic and pectoral fins light brown with dark-brown patches; paired fins yellowish proximally, hyaline distally; all other fins hyaline with brown spots on fin rays, forming a median band in the pectoral, pelvic, dorsal and anal fins. Caudal fin hyaline, with 2–3 dark bands. In life ( Fig. 4 ), the fish is darker in appearance, with light-brown body; other coloration similar to preserved specimens.

Etymology. The species name ‘ chipkali ’ means lizard in Hindi; it refers to the general lizard-like appearance of the fish in its habitat, where is it usually found adhering to rocks and boulders in fast-flowing streams. The name is a noun in apposition.

Habitat and distribution. Balitora chipkali is currently known from three nearby localities within the westward-flowing Astoli tributary of the Kali River system in the Western Ghats of northern Karnataka ( Fig. 5 ). The type locality ( Fig. 6 ) of the species is a shallow stream with boulders and rocks, and pebbles, gravel and mud as substratum. Co-occurring fish species include members of family Cyprinidae : Haludaria sp., Hypselobarbus pulchellus (Day) , Osteochilichthys cf. nashii (Day) , Pethia sp., Puntius cf. sahyadriensis Silas , Devario malabaricus (Jerdon) ; Aplocheilidae : Aplocheilus cf. lineatus (Valenciennes) , Mastacembelidae : Mastacembelus armatus (Lacepède) ; and Sisoridae : Glyptothorax sp.

Molecular analysis. The best partitioning scheme was based on minimum BIC was TIM2+I+G4 nucleotide substitution model for first two codon positions of both COI and Cytb gene sequences (BIC = 29164.01, lnl = - 13760.76, df = 208) and TN+G4 nucleotide substitution model for third codon positions of both COI and Cytb gene sequences (BIC = 29645.62, lnl = -13614.62, df=306). In the maximum likelihood tree of concatenated COI and Cytb gene sequences, Balitora chipkali formed a monophyletic group with B. laticauda as its sister taxon ( Fig. 7 ). The raw genetic distance between Balitora chipkali and B. laticauda was 1.9–2.2% based on COI and 3.4–4.3% based on Cytb gene partial sequences, which is substantially greater than the intra-species variation of 0.0–0.7% and 0.0–1.1% for COI and Cytb respectively, in widely separated populations (from 13.2°N to 17.5°N latitudes) of B. laticauda ( Table 2 and 3 ). Southern Indian species of Balitora formed a monophyletic group along with Hemimyzon elongatus (Chen & Li, in Li & Chen, 1985) , which was well separated from Balitora kwangsiensis ( Fig. 7 ). This was also reflected in a lower genetic distance between the southern Indian species of Balitora and H. elongatus as compared to their distance from B. kwangsiensis ( Table 3 ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Balitora chipkali holotype (BNHS FWF 193, 47.7 mm SL) in (A) lateral, (B) dorsal and (C) ventral view.

FIGURE 2. Details of head and mouth of Balitora chipkali holotype (BNHS FWF 193, 47.7 mm SL). (A) Head in dorsal view, (B) Head in lateral view, (C) mouth and (D) line drawing of mouth.

FIGURE 3. Cleared and stained paratype of Balitora chipkali (BNHS FWF 196, 29.0 mm SL).

FIGURE 4. Balitora chipkali paratypes in life. (A) BNHS FWF 196 (29.0 mm SL) and (B) WILD- 15 - PIS- 252 (51.4 mm SL).

FIGURE 5. Distribution of Balitora chipkali and its sister taxa B. laticauda. Star indicates type locality. Balitora chipkali is distributed in westward flowing Kali River system, while B. laticauda is widely distributed in eastward flowing rivers which are tributaries of Krishna River system.

FIGURE 6. Habitat at the type locality Ramnagar on Astoli River, Kali River system, Karnataka, India.

FIGURE 7. Maximum likelihood tree based on concatenated COI and Cytb gene sequences depicting the phylogenetic position of southern Indian balitorids marked with different colors. Species of family Gastromyzontidae and Myxocyprinus asiaticus (Family: Catostomidae) are used as outgroups with M. asiaticus as a root. Balitora chipkali is a monophyletic group and sister taxon of B. laticauda. Southern India species of Balitora form a monophyletic group with Hemimyzon elongatus. Voucher numbers, wherever available, are provided in parenthesis.

Tables

TABLE 1. Morphometric data of Balitora chipkali holotype (BNHS FWF 193) and paratypes (BNHS FWF 194 – 196, WILD- 15 - PIS- 228 – 230, 252, ZSI-WRC P / 4780 – 4782).

Characters	Holotype	Paratypes (n = 10)
		Average (sd) Range
Total length (mm)	58.7	53.6 (8.2) 36.3–63.9
Standard length (SL, mm)	47.7	42.6 (6.5) 29.0–51.4
Head length (HL, mm)	10.6	9.4 (1.1) 7.2–11.2
% SL
Head length	22.2	22.3 (1.4) 19.7–24.8
Pre-dorsal length	46.8	47.3 (0.8) 46.0–48.3
Dorsal to caudal fin distance	54.9	55.3 (0.9) 54.3–56.8
Pre-pectoral fin length	14.9	16.6 (1.3) 15.7–19.9
Pre-pelvic fin length	45.5	45.7 (1.2) 44.1–47.6
Pre-anus length	69.1	70.5 (1.7) 67.6–72.6
Pre-anal fin length	74.6	76.7 (0.9) 75.1–77.9
Pelvic fin to anus distance	24.5	25.4 (1.5) 22.3–27.5
Anal fin to anus distance	7.1	6.5 (1.5) 4.3–8.4
Body depth (at dorsal fin origin)	13.2	13.3 (1.4) 10.9–14.9
Body depth (at anus)	10.6	10.6 (1.0) 9.0–12.3
Body width (at dorsal fin origin)	17.8	17.1 (2.0) 14.7–21.4
Body width (at anus)	10.0	9.4 (1.1) 7.7–11.1
Height of dorsal fin	20.3	20.2 (1.1) 18.3–22.2
Dorsal fin base length	12.3	14.0 (0.9) 13.2–16.0
Length of upper caudal lobe	22.6	23.3 (1.7) 21.5–26.7
Length of lower caudal lobe	25.6	26.9 (1.1) 25.7–28.9
Length of median caudal rays	14.1	15.6 (1.4) 13.7–17.6
Height of anal fin	13.7	13.9 (0.7) 12.9–14.8
Anal fin base	6.9	6.4 (1.3) 5.0–9.5
Length of pelvic fin	22.6	21.3 (0.8) 20.2–22.6
Length of pectoral fin	25.6	25.6 (0.9) 24.1–27.1
Depth of caudal peduncle	6.9	7.5 (0.4) 6.9–8.1
Length of caudal peduncle	19.5	16.7 (1.0) 15.1–18.2
%HL
Dorsal head length	105.0	105.3 (4.6) 97.8–113.6
Gape of mouth	24.8	25.7 (1.8) 23.2–29.7
Head depth at eye	39.6	39.6 (2.7) 36.2–45.9
Head depth at nape	42.7	46.5 (3.1) 42.5–51.3
Snout length	54.9	54.0 (3.9) 49.6–62.5
Head width (at nares)	65.0	60.3 (6.5) 54.4–75.3
Maximum head width	75.6	75.6 (4.9) 70.9–87.6
Eye diameter	15.8	18.1 (1.8) 16.3–21.7
Interorbital width	35.5	38.2 (3.6) 34.5–46.2