Checklist of the fishes of the Achankovil forests, Kerala, India with notes on the range extension of an endemic cyprinid Puntius chalakkudiensis

Population Structure of Denison?s barb, Puntius denisonii (Pisces:Cyprinidae): A Species Complex Endemic to the Western Ghats of India

“…An unrecognized diversity and possibility of at least two morphologically cryptic lineages within P. denisonii, obtained from international aquarium trade, has been reported recently [46]. The species P. denisonii and P. chalakkudiensis have been reported from different west flowing rivers of Kerala [1][2][3]48], including the river systems under the present study. Earlier reports regarding the distribution of these species were purely based on the morphological examinations alone.…”

“…Based on the morphologic and genetic pattern observed in the present study, the specimens with a black blotch on dorsal fin obtained from Chalakkudy, Periyar and Pamba river systems (CHD, PER(c) and PMB samples, respectively), could be considered as P. chalakkudiensis. Thus, the distribution of P. chalakkudiensis should be extended to Periyar and Pamba River systems, in addition to the previously reported type locality, the Chalakkudy River [1] and Achankovil [48]. The rest of the haplotypes of P. denisonii, without a black blotch on dorsal fin, obtained from four different river systems of north Kerala (CDR, KGD, VLP and CHR samples) and from Periyar river [PER(d)], were further separated into four distinct well separated monophyletic clades (C1, C2, C3 and C4), with high level of genetic ( Figure 5; Table 7), and morphologic divergence (Figure 4b; Table 3), indicating the presence of four independent evolutionary lineages within the species.…”

Piscicidal Plants Used by Malai Pandaram Tribes in Achankovil River Basin, Kerala: An Ethnobiological Approach.

“…Oken, Tetrameles nudiflora R.Br.and chemicals like Ca(ClO) 2 (Calcium hypochlorite), Ca(OH) 2 (Calcium hydroxide) and NH 3 (Ammonia) are used by the non tribes in the region for poisoning of fishes. A total of 46 species of freshwater fish, belonging to 17 families and 31 genera were reported from the Achankovil Reserve Forests of Achankovil River basin; 14 of this species were endemic to the Western Ghats and three were endemic to Kerala region [23][24] . Malai Pandarams settled in Achankovil River basin contributes 20 % of the total population of them.…”

Record of a wild specimen of Redline torpedo fish, Puntius denisonii (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae) with vertebral deformity

“…We found that dynamite fishing is one of the major threats over the freshwater fishes of River Valapattanam. However, the dynamite fishing has been banned vide by The Travancore Cochin Fisheries Act of 1950, there is very little or no enforcement from the concerned authorities and the practice continues in the rivers of Kerala (Baby et al 2011). From the above discussion, it is clear that the fish deformities are very complex and are caused by multiple factors.…”