Type locality is ‘ Kapa, northwestern peninsular Thailand’, which may refer to modern-day Kapoe district, Ranong province, and additional records exist from other localities in Ranong as well as Phang-nga and Pattani provinces.

Although the precise extent of its distribution is unclear it appears to occur in river systems on both sides of the Tennaserim Hills in pen…

Type locality is given as ‘Cedawáti [Vedawati] stream, headwaters of Krishna River near Heriuru, Mysore, India’, with the species currently considered to occur throughout India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and probably Bhutan.

It’s also been recorded in Pakistan, Myanmar, Thailand and Sri Lanka although some or all of these reports may refer to other species.

This species occasionally appears in the ornamental trade, usually as ‘striped hill trout’ or ‘banded hill trout’.

It can be distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: lateral line complete with 40-42 scales; barbels absent; 10-13 anal-fin rays; body with 9-11 dark blue vertical bars; last dorsal-fin ray extending to caudal-fin base.

It can be told apart from similar-looking congeners such as P. crescentus and P. muzaffarpurensis by the following combination of characters: barbels absent; lateral line incomplete with up to 5 pored scales; 20-22 lateral line scales; 8 predorsal scales; dorsal-fin with a vertically-orientated black streak and a black tip with orange markings; a dark spot at the base of the caudal peduncle.

This species is almost identical to the wild form of ‘P.‘ semifasciolatus which is best known as the ‘golden barb’ in the aquarium hobby due to the popularity of a yellowish ornamental strain. The natural colour pattern is greenish in both species, however, and in terms of external characters they’re only reliably distinguished by the fact that ‘P.‘ semifasciolatus possesses a pair of prominent maxillary barbels wherea…

This species is almost unheard of in the aquarium hobby outside of India but is maintained by some private collectors. It’s distinguished from similar species by possessing a single pair of maxillary barbels, a relatively elongate body, and distinctive black spot above the anterior anal-fin base.

The genus Puntius was for a number of years viewed as a polyphyletic catc…

A benthopelagic fish mostly recorded from streams and minor tributaries at relatively high altitudes of more than 1200 metres AMSL with cool, clear, well-oxygenated water and substrates of bedrock, boulders, cobbles, and gravel. Aquatic plants aren’t usually present though riparian vegetation may be well-developed. It’s also present in some ponds and small lakes, including some stagnant water bodies with muddy substrates.

This species is poorly-known in the aquarium hobby and has a confusing taxonomic history having been considered both synonymous with or a subspecies of the congener P. ticto in the past. It can be distinguished from other members of the genus by the following combination of characters: lateral line complete with 27 scales (following Day); body with two dark blotches; anterior spot one scale row below lateral line; dorsal-fin with rows of spots.

P. chola was retained in Puntius sensu stricto, of which members are defined by the following combination of characters: adult size usually less than 120 mm SL; maxillary barbels absent or present; rostral barbels absent; 3-4 unbranched and 8 branched dorsal-fin rays; 3 unbranched and 5 branched anal-fin rays; last unbranched dorsal-fin ray weak or strong and unserrated; lateral line complete with 22-28 pored body scales…

Described from Pookode Lake in Wayanad district, Kerala state, southern India and possibly endemic there although some unconfirmed records exist from within the surrounding Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.

Pookode is a small freshwater lake surrounded by forest with a surface area of around 2 km² and is the source of the Panamaram River, a tributary within the much larger Kabani system. Its maximum depth is around 6.5 metres and in marginal areas dense patches of water lilies can be found.