Guwahati: Researchers have described two new freshwater fish species from Nagaland and published their findings in the international journal Zootaxa. The discoveries, made by J. Praveenraj of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research – Central Island Agricultural Research Institute (Andaman & Nicobar Islands) and independent researcher Balaji Vijayakrishnan of Mumbai, were recorded during ichthyological surveys in tributaries of the Brahmaputra in Mokokchung district. The scientists named the species after the son and daughter of their late collaborator, assistant professor Limakum, fulfilling what they say was one of his final wishes.
Praveenraj said the namings were personal. “This was his last wish,” he recalled. “He wanted his children’s names to live on in science.” He added that meeting that wish was “more than taxonomy — it was a tribute to friendship, dedication, and the passion he had for science and his family.” Esther Watinaro, Limakum’s wife, said the discoveries reflected his lifelong commitment to zoological research and hoped they would inspire young scholars.
The two species are Glyptothorax sentimereni and Oreichthys elianae. Oreichthys elianae, named for Eliana, the late researcher’s daughter, was found in a small tributary of the Tsurang River. This tiny cyprinid measures just over 2.5 cm in standard length and is notable for vivid coloration: bright red dorsal, pelvic, anal and caudal fins, and a distinct black blotch at the base of the tail. It has an incomplete lateral line with only five pored scales and 14–15 pores on the cheek — a combination of traits that separates it from related species in India and Southeast Asia.
Glyptothorax sentimereni was discovered in the rocky stretches of the Dikhu River and belongs to a group of torrent-dwelling catfishes adapted to fast-flowing streams. It is distinguished by a rhomboidal thoracic adhesive apparatus fully encircled by keratinised striae — a natural suction-like structure that helps the fish cling to rocks in strong currents — plus serrations on the dorsal-fin spine and a plicate (folded) ventral surface on its pectoral and pelvic fins. So far this species is known only from shallow, boulder-strewn stretches about 0.5 metres deep in the Dikhu River.
The authors highlight that Nagaland sits at the meeting point of the Eastern Himalaya and Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspots, a landscape shaped by complex geology, tectonic shifts and river-capture events. While other taxa such as orchids and amphibians have received growing attention, freshwater fish in Nagaland remain poorly documented; ichthyological surveys began as early as the 1930s, but systematic studies have accelerated only recently. The discovery of these endemic species underscores how much of Northeast India’s aquatic biodiversity is still hidden, even within river systems linked to the Brahmaputra, and it emphasizes the role of local collaboration and long-term fieldwork in revealing that diversity.
Original Source: https://nenow.in/north-east-news/nagaland/nagalands-rivers-yield-two-new-fish-species-honouring-late-scholars-final-wish.html
Category: Environment,Nagaland,Northeast News,Top News
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Publish Date: 2026-03-03 23:33:00
