A tiny fish belonging to the Badidae family has been discovered in a distributary stream of the Kabini river in the Western Ghats of the Indian peninsula. The fish was discovered by VK Anoop, a PhD student at the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS), and his colleague, Liju Thomas, in a secluded stream draining into river Kabini, between Periya and Boys Town villages in Kerala’s Wayanad district. With the help of Neelesh Dahanukar of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune and Ralf Britz of The Natural History Museum, London, the fish was confirmed and identified to be a member of the Badidae family. The fish was named Dario neela due to its distinct blue coloration of the rims in its median and pelvic fins. Until recently, members of the Badidae family have been thought to be restricted tothe Himalayan rivers of India, Pakistan and further east up to the Mekong river. However, there has been four species of this family found in the Western Ghats in recent years. While three of these, Dario neela, Dario urops and Dario huli are from the same Dario genus, the Badis britzi belongs to the Badis genus, all members of the Badidae family, found a little away from home.

—- As reported by Mongabay

Cover Photo: Dario neela. Photo from Ralf Britz et al. paper.