Guwahati: Researchers have discovered a new species of freshwater fish in Manipur, according to a recent study published in the peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa.
The research team, led by Dr. Bungdon Shangningam, an associate professor at Dhanamanjuri University (DMU) in Imphal, identified the species Garra nambashiensis, which belongs to the Labeonine family.
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Researchers found the fish in Taretlok, a tributary of the Chindwin River, near Nambashi Valley in Manipur’s Kamjong district.
Dr. Shangningam, along with team members Kongbrailatpam Babyrani Devi, Thonbamliu Abonmai, and Kh Rajmani Singh, submitted their findings in March.
The species Garra nambashiensis features a quadrate-shaped proboscis, 7-8 acanthoid tubercles on the anterolateral margin, black spots on the opercle, 8-11 dorsal-fin scales, and six black stripes extending to the hypural plate.
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Dr. Shangningam, from Chakpikarong in Chandel district and a former post-doctoral fellow at the Zoological Survey of India, stated that the species typically measures 90-140 mm (9-14 cm) and locals call it Nutungnu.
The study found Garra nambashiensis in fast-flowing riffles with algae-covered gravel beds and a mixed substrate of cobbles, boulders, sand, fine silt, and coarse sediments.
The species adds to the growing list of Garra fish in the North East, with 60 species already documented across river systems like the Chindwin, Brahmaputra, Barak, and Kaladan.
Notably, 32 of these species belong to the proboscis species group and inhabit the Chindwin River system, which hosts eight recorded Garra species, including the newly described G. chingaiensis.
The newly discovered Garra nambashiensis is found in the Taretlok River, which borders Myanmar.
This discovery follows Dr. Shangningam’s 2018 identification of Pethia poiensis, locally known as ngakha macha, in the Challou River of Ukhrul District.