''Dawkinsia rohani'' is a species of
ray-finned fish
Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species.
The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...
in the genus ''
Dawkinsia
''Dawkinsia'' is a genus of cyprinid fishes from freshwater in South India and Sri Lanka. It was split off from genus '' Puntius'' in 2012.
Etymology
''Dawkinsia'' is named after the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in recognition of h ...
''. It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to the
Western Ghats and inhabits the hill streams of
Kanyakumari District
Kanniyakumari district is one of the 38 districts in Tamil Nadu state and the southernmost district in mainland India. It stands second in terms of population density among the districts of Tamil Nadu. It is also the richest district in Tamil Na ...
in
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
draining into the
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...
.
Etymology
The fish is named in honor of
Rohan Pethiyagoda
Rohan David Pethiyagoda is a Sri Lankan biodiversity scientist, amphibian and freshwater-fish taxonomist, author, conservationist and public-policy advocate.
Early life and career
Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 19 November 1955 Pethiyagoda had hi ...
(b. 1955), in recognition of his work on the freshwater fishes of India and Sri Lanka.
[www.etyfish.com]
References
Dawkinsia
Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats
Freshwater fish of India
Taxa named by Karunakaran Rema Devi
Taxa named by J. D. Marcus Knight
Fish described in 2010
{{Barbinae-stub