Puntius kamalika Silva, Maduwage & Pethiyagoda, 2008, sp. nov.

Puntius kamalika, sp. nov.

(Fig. 1)

Barbus amphibius (non Valenciennes, 1842) Duncker, 1912: 262; Senanayake, 1980: 84 (in part). Puntius amphibius (non Valenciennes, 1842) Deraniyagala 1930: 15; Herre 1946: 175; Deraniyagala 1952: 28; Munro 1955: 44.

Type material. Holotype: WHT 7639, 50.2 mm SL, Sri Lanka, Kalu River at Walandure near Kuruwita (6°46’N, 80°23’ E), elevation 120 m; coll. K. Manamendra-Arachchi & M. M. Bahir, 5 Jan1998.

Paratypes: WHT 7640, 11 ex., 39.3–55.4 mm SL, Sri Lanka, Kalu River at Walandure near Kuruwita (6°46’N, 80°23’ E), elevation 120 m; coll. K. Manamendra-Arachchi & M. M. Bahir, 5 Jan 1998. WHT 7641, 2 ex., 44.2 mm, 58.1 mm SL, Sri Lanka, Gin River at Wakwella near Galle (6°06’N, 80°11’ E), elevation 5 m; coll. M. M. Bahir & M. de Silva, 26 Dec 1997. WHT 7642, 2 ex., 51.6 mm, 51.8 mm SL, Sri Lanka, Kelani River near Gampaha 7°03’N, 80°01’E, elevation 10 m; collector, date unknown. WHT 7643, 72.7 mm SL, Sri Lanka, Attidiya near Colombo (6°50’N, 79°53’E), elevation 8 m; coll. D. Gabadage, 11 Jun 1993.

Diagnosis. Puntius kamalika is distinguished from all Sri Lankan and peninsular-Indian congeners by having ½4/1/2½ scales in transverse line between mid-dorsal scale row and pelvic-fin origin and lacking any prominent markings on fins and body in both living and preserved examples. Additionally, it is distinguished from the Sri Lankan and peninsular Indian species of Puntius that most closely resemble it as follows: from P. amphibius sensu stricto by having the head length 28.8–31.2% (vs 26.4–28.3%) SL; eye diameter 7.7–10.2% (vs 6.6–7.3%) SL; maxillary barbel 3.7–5.3% (vs 3.1%) SL; and 16+14 vertebrae (vs 17+14); from P. dorsalis by its smaller size (maximum standard length 72 mm, vs 133 mm); and lacking any prominent markings on fins and body (vs black blotches on base of dorsal and caudal fins); and from P. mahecola by its smaller maximum size (up to 73 mm SL, vs 89 mm SL in P. mahecola), and by lacking a black blotch, larger than eye, across about 3½ scales of the caudal peduncle.

Description. General body shape and appearance are shown in Figure 1. Morphometric data of holotype and 17 paratypes are given in Table 1. Body elongate, laterally compressed; pre-dorsal contour ascending, convex, with a slight depression above first pre-dorsal scale. Ventral contour convex anterior to origin of caudal peduncle. Dorsal and ventral profiles of caudal peduncle concave to terminal scales on tail base. Caudal peduncle length 1.1–1.4 (mean 1.2, SD 0.1) times its depth.

Head slightly less than one-third of standard length, somewhat compressed laterally. Eye located slightly forward of centre, superiorly on head. Eyes just visible in ventral and dorsal views. Nares dorsolaterally orientated, a shallow transverse depression on snout immediately anterior to them, dividing dorsal profile of snout into two convex halves. Mouth U-shaped in ventral aspect, subterminal, small, angle of gape not reaching below anterior nares in lateral aspect. Lips fleshy, entire, adnate to jaws. Upper lip overhanging lower one; posterior margin of lower lip interrupted medially by isthmus. A single pair of maxillary barbels, their length slightly less than one-third eye diameter; no mandibular barbels. Fifth ceratobranchial with 5+3+2 teeth (Fig. 2 F).

Pelvic-fin origin beneath dorsal-fin origin. Distal margin of dorsal fin slightly concave, that of anal fin straight. Distal margins of both pelvic and pectoral fins convex, rounded. Dorsal-fin origin above eighth scale of lateral line, its height 27.6–32.1% SL, with 4 unbranched rays (the last one smooth, strong) and 8 branched rays. Anal fin with 3 unbranched and 5 branched rays, its depth 17.5–19.9% SL. Posterior margins of dorsal and anal fins straight, their last rays, respectively, branched to base. Pelvic fin with one unbranched and eight branched rays, not reaching anus. Pectoral fin with one unbranched and 13 branched rays, not reaching pelvicfin origin. Caudal fin deeply forked, its lobes pointed, with 8 branched rays on upper lobe, 9 on lower lobe; 4 procurrent rays visible at top and bottom of caudal fin.

Pored scales on lateral line 22 (1), 23 (12), 24 (5) on body, plus up to two on caudal-fin base; 4½ scales in transverse line between lateral line and origin of dorsal fin, 2½ between lateral line and origins of both pelvic and anal fins; ½2/1/2½ scales in transverse line on caudal peduncle; eight predorsal scales (excluding notched scale at dorsal-fin origin). An axillary scale approximately half length of pelvic fin extends backwards from pelvic-fin origin. Four scales on base of caudal fin. Dorsal-fin base sheathed by 7 scales.

Coloration. In life (Fig. 1 B), adults greenish-golden brown dorsally, with a faint, diffuse brownish lateral band about two scale-heights wide from top of operculum to base of caudal fin. Tail-base slightly darker than rest of body, but lacking melanophores. Body silvery-white ventrally. Fins faintly pinkish, except for caudal, which is hyaline. In preservative (Fig. 1 A), head and body dorsally brownish olive, laterally yellowish brown; lower body, belly and chest pale cream-yellow. Fins hyaline. A faint darkening visible at caudal-fin base on some specimens (Fig. 1 A). Faint dark-grey speckles present on anal and caudal fins.

Distribution. Puntius kamalika is widely distributed in the wet-zone lowlands of Sri Lanka (rainfall> 2,500 mm yr -1), where it occurs in streams, rivers and marshes between the Kelani-River basin draining to the island’s west, and the Gin River basin to the south (Fig. 3). It is locally common.

Etymology. The species-name is an eponym honouring Kamalika Abeyaratne (22 June 1934 – 11 December 2004), formed as a noun in apposition. Puntius kamalika has previously been known in Sri Lanka by the vernacular names Ipilli kadeya and Mada ipilla (Deraniyagala 1930). We propose that in English it be called Kami’s barb, an allusion to the diminutive by which Dr Abeyaratne was known throughout her life.