identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
03AC87CEFFA2ED0CFF3EFDF8FAF057C1.text	03AC87CEFFA2ED0CFF3EFDF8FAF057C1.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Amblyceps vayavy Vijayakrishnan & Thackeray & Shirke 2026	<div><p>Amblyceps vayavy, new species urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub: 91C0AE8C-A421-4973-8C6A-8CEF0BAA4C6E</p><p>(Figs. 1 &amp; 2)</p><p>Material examined. Holotype. NRC-AA-0001, 38.9 mm SL; India: Goa, South Goa District, Surla Village, Ragada River, a tributary of the Mahadayi River .</p><p>Paratype. NRC-AA-0002, 1, 35.3 mm SL; India: Maharashtra, Raigad District, Pui Village, Kundalika River .</p><p>Diagnosis. Amblyceps vayavy can be distinguished from A. accari, the only known congener from the Western Ghats, in having adipose-fin separate from (vs. confluent with) the dorsal procurrent part of caudal fin, lacking (vs. having) centrally projecting hooks on proximal lepidotrichia of median caudal-fin rays, incomplete (vs. complete) lateral line, and deeper body (depth at anus 14.7–15.3% SL vs. 11.1–12.7). Amblyceps vayavy can be distinguished from A. crassioris, the only known congener from the Eastern Ghats, in having (vs. lacking) lateral line, lower jaw longer than upper jaw (vs. jaws equal in length), shorter anal-fin base (15.3–15.9% SL vs. 17.3–24.7), and slender head (10.1–10.5% SL vs. 11.9–15.0). The following combination of characters serves to diagnose A. vayavy from other congeners: presence of forked caudal-fin, adipose-fin separate from dorsal procurrent part of the caudal fin, centrally projecting hooks on proximal lepidotrichia of median caudal-fin rays absent, incomplete lateral line, lower jaw longer than upper, anal-fin base 15.3–15.9% SL, body depth at anus 14.7–15.3% SL, and adipose-fin base length 21.8–22.3% SL.</p><p>Description. Morphometric data provided in Table 1 and general body shape as in Figs. 1 and 2.</p><p>......continued on the next page</p><p>Body elongate, sub-cylindrical anterior to pelvic fins, slightly laterally compressed posterior to pelvic fins to strongly compressed posterior to anal fin. Predorsal profile convex at head region; gently increasing from tip of snout to nape, then gradually increasing to dorsal-fin origin; almost straight from dorsal-fin origin to adipose-fin origin, then gently sloping ventrally to end of caudal peduncle. Ventral body profile almost straight. Head depressed, widest at opercle. Snout rounded in lateral and dorsal view. Eye small, rounded, and subcutaneous, located dorsolaterally directly behind posterior nostril. Lateral line incomplete. Mouth terminal, lower jaw longer than upper jaw, lips papillated, with double fold of thickened skin. Premaxillary teeth short, conical, posteriorly directed; arranged in semi-rectangular band with well-developed posterior extensions. Mandibular teeth small, conical; arranged in narrow crescent band. Anterior nostril located at base of nasal barbel forming short tube.</p><p>Maxillary barbel simple, reaching posterior margin of pectoral-fin base, nasal barbel reaching anterior margin of preopercle. Inner mandibular barbel almost reaching origin of pectoral-fin base; outer mandibular barbel reaching posterior margin of pectoral-fin base. Gill membranes narrowly joined at isthmus, with 10 (n=2) branchiostegal rays.</p><p>Dorsal fin with one short smooth spine, 6 * (2) branched rays, origin at vertical through middle of adpressed pectoral fin. Pectoral fin extending past dorsal origin when adpressed, with smooth spine, one simple ray and 7 * (2) branched rays. Pelvic fin with one simple ray and 6 * (2) branched rays, located approximately at vertical through midpoint between dorsal-fin insertion and adipose-fin origin. Anal fin with two simple and 8 * (2) branched rays, its margin rounded, origin at point one-third distance between pelvic-fin origin and caudal-fin origin. Caudal fin with i, 8+7, i * or i, 8+9, i rays; deeply forked; upper lobe longer than lower, terminating in pointed filament formed by uppermost branched caudal-fin ray. Hooks on lepidotrichia absent. Adipose-fin moderately long, upper margin convex; origin slightly anterior to vertical through anal-fin origin.</p><p>Colouration. In life (Fig. 2): body light brown, fading ventrally to pale yellow-white. All barbels reddish-brown, greyish-brown at base. Dorsal and adipose fins brown near base, white distally; pectoral, pelvic and fins hyaline, with distal margins lightly pigmented with reddish-brown. Caudal fin brown, central rays hyaline and margins pigmented with pale reddish-brown.</p><p>In 10% formalin (Fig. 1): body and head brown dorsally, lateral sides brown to pale brown, turning to cream ventrally. Barbels beige distally, light brown to brown proximally. Dorsal, pectoral and anal fins brown near base; hyaline distally. Pelvic fin uniformly hyaline. Dorsum colouration extending onto base of adipose fin; becoming white towards margin. Caudal fin light brown at base; margins white.</p><p>Distribution and habitat. The stream at the type locality was moderately wide (~ 3 m width), shallow, and gently flowing (Fig. 3). The holotype was collected from a section of the stream which had a predominantly sandy bottom with cobbles and pebbles as major substrate. Other species encountered at the type locality included Devario cf. malabaricus, Haludaria pradhani, Aplocheilus lineatus, Rasbora dandia and Indoreonectes sp. Amblyceps vayavy is presently known only from the type locality, and an additional location (450km away) from where the paratype was collected. The species is likely to be endemic to west-flowing rivers in the northern part of the Western Ghats (Fig. 4).</p><p>Over a five-year study period (from 2020 to 2025), more than 30 dedicated surveys were undertaken covering various seasons and suitable habitats in the Kundalika River, Maharashtra, where the first report of A. vayavy surfaced from. Despite this intensive sampling effort, only two specimens (~ 10.0 mm TL; released back subsequently) were collected besides the paratype. Although these surveys covered neighbouring rivers (Amba, Patalganga and Mula), A. vayavy was collected only from the Kundalika. Similarly, in the last four years (from 2021 to 2025), multiple surveys were conducted in various tributaries of the Mahadayi River in Goa, and the holotype of A. vayavy was the only specimen collected. Further surveys are ongoing in Goa and Maharashtra to generate data to assess the status of this species in the wild, and understand if these sparse records are an artefact of inadequate sampling, or indeed a true reflection of low population densities.</p><p>Etymology. The specific name vayavy (pronounced vah-yhav-yah) is derived from Konkani (the official language of the state of Goa), and Marathi (the official language of the state of Maharashtra), both meaning northwest, in reference to the type locality and the additional collection location in the northern part of the Western Ghats.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03AC87CEFFA2ED0CFF3EFDF8FAF057C1	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		MagnoliaPress via Plazi	Vijayakrishnan, Balaji;Thackeray, Tejas;Shirke, Abhishek	Vijayakrishnan, Balaji, Thackeray, Tejas, Shirke, Abhishek (2026): Amblyceps vayavy, a new catfish from the northern part of the Western Ghats, India (Teleostei: Amblycipitidae). Zootaxa 5768 (3): 401-409, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5768.3.6, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5768.3.6
