The identity of the Sri Lankan Amblypharyngodon (Teleostei, Cyprinidae)

Abstract

<p>Morphological and molecular analyses of specimens representative of the geographic range of the cyprinid genus <i>Amblypharyngodon</i> in Sri Lanka suggest the presence of only a single species in the island, for which the name <i>Amblypharyngodongrandisquamis</i> Jordan & Starks, 1917, is available. <i>Amblypharyngodongrandisquamis</i> is a species endemic to Sri Lanka, distributed across the lowlands of both of the island's main climatic zones. It is distinguished from all other species of <i>Amblypharyngodon</i>, including the three species recorded from peninsular India (<i>A.mola</i>, <i>A.microlepis</i>, and <i>A.melettinus</i>), by a suite of characters that includes a body depth of 26.9-31.2% of the standard length (SL), 42-56 scales in the lateral series (of which usually 8-16 are pored), 20-24 circumpeduncular scales, 14-17 scale rows between the origins of the dorsal and pelvic fins, a dorsal-fin height of 21.1-27.6% SL, 18-19 caudal vertebrae and an eye diameter of 22.7-30.5% of the head length. <i>Amblypharyngodongrandisquamis</i> differs from <i>A.melettinus</i> and <i>A.mola</i> by uncorrected pairwise genetic distances of more than 9% and 6%, respectively, for the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene.</p>