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Issue: Vol. 5686 No. 3: 28 Aug. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-08-28
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5686.3.7
Page range: 438-446
Abstract views: 168
PDF downloaded: 1

The identity of Pristolepis malabarica (Günther 1864) and Pristolepis procerus Plamoottil 2017, its junior synonym (Anabantiformes: Pristolepididae)

Department of Fisheries Resource Management; Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS); Kochi; India.
Department of Fisheries Resource Management; Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS); Kochi; India.
Senckenberg Natural History Collections Dresden; Germany.
Department of Fisheries Resource Management; Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS); Kochi; India.
Pisces leaf fish Malabar Sunfish Pristolepididae taxonomy Western ghats

Abstract

The confusion surrounding the identity of Pristolepis malabarica, until now considered to be a synonym of P. marginata, is cleared up using morphometric, meristic and genetic data generated from topotypic specimens. Pristolepis malabarica can be clearly distinguished from P. marginata in having fewer anal-fin spines, and by the colour of the dorsal-, anal- and caudal fin-margins. Both species are also separated by a raw pair-wise genetic distance of 11.5–13.2% in mitochondrial COI sequences. Pristolepis procerus, described from the Chaliyar River, lacks characters that distinguish it from P. malabarica, and is hence considered a junior synonym of the latter. Distributed on both sides of the Palghat Gap, a significant biogeographic barrier, Pristolepis malabarica is likely the widest-ranging species of the genus in the Western Ghats.

 

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How to Cite

Prakash, A.P., Raghavan, R., Britz, R. & Ali, A. (2025) The identity of Pristolepis malabarica (Günther 1864) and Pristolepis procerus Plamoottil 2017, its junior synonym (Anabantiformes: Pristolepididae). Zootaxa, 5686 (3), 438–446. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5686.3.7