New native freshwater fish found in Suriyakanda stream
A Sri Lankan researcher has revealed a new species of loach, a freshwater fish, found in a stream in Suriyakanda.
L o a ches are bottom- dwelling freshwater fish that live in natural streams as well as rivers, the researcher notes.
During a fish survey in Suriyakanda two years back, researcher Hiranya Sudasinghe found a fish that looked different from other known loaches. He has proved it is a fish species new to science. The findings were published this week in the acclaimed scientific journal ZooTaxa, officially recognising the fish as a new species endemic to Sri Lanka.
It has been classified as Schistura madhavai in honor of Prof Madhava Meegaskumbura, a senior researcher who has discovered a number of new species. Mr. Sudasinghe who g raduated from the University of Peradeniya also recalls Prof Meegaskumbura’s guidance. Mr. Sudasinghe’s previous research led to recognising two new catfish species endemic to Sri Lanka.
The new fish was recorded from a small stream about two metres wide in Suriyakanda. The stream flows through a tea plantation. Suriyakanda is about 1,000 metres above sea level, so the new fish has been tagged as a hill- stream loach. In his research papers, Mr. Sudasinghe says, loaches have small barbels which act as sensory organs that helps them to find food on murky bottoms of freshwat e r streams. Most loaches have either three pairs or four pairs of barbels and the new member has three pairs of barbels, the researchers explains.
The researcher says little is known about the biology of these species in Sri Lanka though there are four other loaches commonly called as ‘ Ahirawa’ in Sinhala. Revealing an interesting fact, Mr. Sudasinghe says in his research paper that the native freshwater fish recorded from the highest elevation in Sri Lanka could be a loach. It is the endemic Sri Lanka banded mountain loach ( Schistura notostigma) found above 1,200 metres in hill country.
He says in his paper that the spiny loach ( Lepidocephalichthys thermalis) is the most common of all the loaches in Sri Lanka found in a variety of habitats including streams, tanks, rivers and ponds in both dry and wet zones. It has a high tolerance towards environmental and physical parameters and sometimes found in harsh conditions as well, he says in the published research.
Even its name "thermalis", is derived because it was first discovered and described from the hot springs in Kinniya , T r i n c o m a l e e, M r. Sudasinghe says in the paper. However, it is not endemic and found in India as well.
Tiger loach ( Paracanthocobitis urophthalma) is another endemic fish in this group found in streams and rivers in the lowland wet zone. The bands in the body of Tiger loach is similar to that of a tiger, the researcher says in the paper.
The endemic fish known as Sri Lanka Jonklaas's loach ( Lepidocephalichthys jonklaasi) is found only in well-shaded small streams in lowland rain forests and is known only from few scattered localities making it critically endangered, just few steps from extinction, Mr. Sudasinghe’s research paper says.
Mr. Sudasinghe says the new loach, too, had been found only from one stream in Suriyakanda and not anywhere else. This is a risk to the fish’s survival.
However, there is possibility that the new loach be found in other streams in the area.
With the new discovery, the number of Sri Lanka’s freshwater fish increased to 88 and 55 of them are endemic to the country.
Government restrictions placed on the mining and sale of sand and earth has created a big demand for this resource especially at new development projects. Resultantly the mining and sale of these two products has become a major business.
In an unfortunate turn of events the mega bucks this commodity fetches has led to strip mining of ancient tanks which have until now withstood the ravages of time and the elements.
Villagers charge tanks beds are being damaged by unscrupulous persons who have captured power of certain farmers organizations and are involved in strip mining the beds of the Mundalama and Kaakapalliya tanks in Chilaw, under the guise of renovating the tanks, utilizing permits issued by the authorities.
They add the organisations are engaged in a large-scale racket to sell sand and clay extracted from the tanks. Nonavailability of government funds for the renovation of tanks in the Puttalam District, has been the leading cause for sub-contracting the renovation of tanks to farmers societies
While permission has been granted to remove and sell the silt and clay during the renovation process, the group is mining clay and earth way beyond permitted limits and are in the process destroying the tank itself.
They add the group also set fire to the forest reserve surrounding the tank and are in league with particular officials from the Department of Agrarian Services, who are expected to monitor the process.
As such, complaints continue to fall on deaf ears, they claim.
The Commissioner of Department of Agrarian Development, D.V. Bandulasena said the department had given permission to remove the top layer of silt and clay in the tank and anything beyond that was illegal.
He has pledged to launch an investigation.
Meanwhile, Grama Niladharis in the Ambalantota Divisional Secretariat protested an alleged assault of the Walewatta East Grama Niladhari by a group of sand miners.