Three new species of filament barbs of the genus Dawkinsia (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) from the Western Ghats of India

Abstract

Fishes of the genus Dawkinsia (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) endemic to peninsular India and Sri Lanka, are reviewed, recognising three new spe-cies. Molecular phylogenetic analysis based on mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 and cytochrome b gene sequences, delineated species of Dawkinsia into two distinct monophyletic lineages, representing two different species groups, viz., the ‘assimilis’ and ‘filamen-tosa’ species groups. Within the ‘assimilis’ group we describe two new species, Dawkinsia apsara and D. austellus, designate a neotype to establish the identity of D. assimilis, and revalidate Puntius (Capoeta)lepidus (hereafter D. lepida). Within the ‘filamentosa’ group, we describe a new species, Dawkinsia crassa, and consider D. singhala as a junior synonym of D. filamentosa