''Schistura scripta'', is a species of

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

in the genus ''

Schistura ''Schistura'' is a genus of fish in the stone loach family Nemacheilidae native to the streams and rivers of the southern and eastern Asia. Some of these species are troglobitic. Species There are currently over 200 recognized species in this g ...

'', newly identified from

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. It is the third species of ''

stone loach The stone loach (''Barbatula barbatula'') is a European species of fresh water ray-finned fish in the family Nemacheilidae. It is one of nineteen species in the genus '' Barbatula''. Stone loaches live amongst the gravel and stones of fast flowi ...

described from Sri Lanka, the other being the widely distributed native species '' Schistura notostigma'' and endemic '' Schistura madhavai''.

Etymology

The specific name ''scripta'' means "written words" in Latin.

Description

Body size is 42.5 mm SL. ''S. scripta'' can be identified by incomplete lateral line with 53–76 pores. There are 7–13 post-dorsal bars and 7½ branched dorsal-fin rays. suborbital flap absent. Caudal fin emarginate with 8+* branched rays. Caudal peduncle has a small dorsal adipose crest. Mouth inferior and curved. Lips thick. Body pale brownish with dark brown bars. Barbels light brown. There is an incomplete black bar at the base of caudal-fin. Rays of pectoral, pelvic and anal fins yellowish, whereas those in caudal and dorsal fins are yellowish orange. A black spot found at the origin of dorsal-fin. Two or three rows of black spots visible on dorsal and caudal fin rays.

Ecology

The species was discovered in a fast-flowing stream running through palm-oil plantations of Nakiyadeniya Estate in Gin River basin.

References

M Fish described in 2018 {{Nemacheilidae-stub