S. chalakkudiensis can be told apart from S. denisonii by possession of an inferior mouth (vs. subterminal) and presence of a black marking in the dorsal-fin (vs. absence), and the scarlet body stripe being duller and terminating beneath or anterior to the dorsal-fin origin (vs. brighter and terminating beneath the centre of the dorsal-fin).

Following Kottelat (1990) the genus Nemacheilus is characterised by a combination of characters as follows: elongate body; complete lateral line; presence of enlarged scales above and below the lateral line in some species; caudal-fin forked to deeply forked with enlarged upp…

Schistura species are omnivorous although the bulk of their diet consists of small insects, worms, crustaceans and other zooplankton with only relatively small amounts of plant matter consumed, mostly via the stomach contents of prey items.

In the aquarium they will acc…

N. selangoricus is most similar to N. spiniferus since it possesses acuminate scales above and below the lateral line on the caudal peduncle, a feature not shared with any other congener. It can however be distinguished by the following characters: presence of 8-12 very regular dark bars on flanks (vs. 10-13 irregularly-shaped bars in N. spiniferus), 3-5 times…

‘N.‘ anguilla can be told apart from other Indian members of the genus by possessing dark flank markings which are partially or completely merged to form a lateral stripe, and an almost-complete lateral line extending to the anal-fin.

Kottelat (2012) states that its generic placement requires additional study hence the genus name i…

Apparently inhabits calm to moderately-flowing stretches of well-oxygenated headwaters and minor tributaries. Such habitats tend to comprise transparent water, substrates of sand, gravel, rocks, boulders, and patches of leaf litter, with submerged driftwood, roots of riparian vegetation, and aquatic vegetation in places.

Towards the Andaman Sea the lower part of the delta gives way to brackish mangrove swamps. The climate is wet, with annual precipitati0n of 1500 – 2500 mm, up to 90% of which falls between mid May and mid November, and warm with average air temperatures of 22 – 37 °C over the course of the year.

At one locality M. nanus was collected in less then 30cm of water from an oxbow lake among floating Pistia-like vegetation and gra…

Type locality is ‘Netravati River, Dharmasthala, Karnataka State, India’, with the species subsequently recorded from the Kabini (aka Kabani) River basin and it may be endemic to these two drainages.

While the Netraviti flows through Karnataka in its entirety before emptying into the Arabian Sea just south of the city of Mangalore, th…

The type series was collected from a blackwater stream in Toh Daeng Peat swamp forest with the fish found in slow-moving or standing habitats among submerged shoreline roots and leaf litter. In the Tapi River floodplain it was collected from stagnant waters, one of which was an oxbow lake approximately 200 m long and 30 m across at its widest point, surrounded by ‘freshwater scrub and swamp trees’. The substrate was composed of mud, woody structures including fallen twigs and branches, and decomposing plant material.

The reason that the paired fins are orientated vertically, as opposed to horizontally in other members of the genus, is unclear but Roberts (1989) suggest it may be an adaptation to this species’ ecology, in that it displays a preference for submerged vegetation or woody structures as opposed to rocky environments. They’re certainly adapted for a rea…