''Sahyadria chalakkudiensis'' is a species of
cyprinid
Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relatives like the barbs and barbels. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family and the largest verte ...
fish
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 elsew ...
to the
Chalakkudy River
Chalakudy River or Chalakudy Puzha is the fifth longest river in Kerala, India. The river flows through Thrissur district, Palakkad district and Ernakulam district of Kerala. The total drainage area of the river is 1704 km2. Out of this,1 ...
,
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
in the
Western Ghats where it can be found in well-vegetated upper reaches of rivers. This species can reach a length of
TL. It resembles the related ''
S. denisonii'', but the colours of ''S. chalakkudiensis'' are less intense.
This fish along with ''S. denisonii'' is also known as Miss Kerala due to its bright color band and shiny scales. It is endangered by the international pet trade, habitat alteration, fisheries, and
invasive fish.
The presence of a black marking in the dorsal-fin identifies this species from P. denisonii.
References
Sahyadria
Freshwater fish of India
Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats
Taxa named by Ambat Gopalan Kutty Menon
Taxa named by Karunakaran Rema Devi
Fish described in 1999
Species endangered by the pet trade
{{Barbinae-stub