MSGID: 1:317/3 64acdb33   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    New fish species discovered after decades of popularity in the aquarium   
   trade    
      
     Date:   
         July 10, 2023   
     Source:   
         Florida Museum of Natural History   
     Summary:   
         Researchers have described a new fish species that's been popular in   
         the aquarium trade since the early 2000s. Wild populations are rare   
         and restricted to a small river basin along the Thailand/Myanmar   
         border, which has made them difficult to study.   
      
      
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   With just a few clicks of a mouse, you can purchase your very own redtail   
   garra, a type of fish that feeds on algae. Information about the fish's   
   biology, however, is much less easily obtained. That's because redtail   
   garra, although popular in the aquarium trade since the early 2000s,   
   has until now been unknown to science.   
      
   Researchers were peripherally aware of the fish's existence, but   
   "discovering" a new species requires scientific description based on   
   specimens collected in their natural environment. Redtail garras appear to   
   be restricted to a small stretch of river straddling the border between   
   Thailand and Myanmar. The locality is isolated and difficult to reach,   
   so wild redtail garras have existed in relative obscurity, despite their   
   global appeal.   
      
   Larry Page, curator of ichthyology at the Florida Museum of Natural   
   History, has surveyed fishes in Thailand every year since 2007. He   
   recently encountered a few redtail garras while conducting fieldwork along   
   the Kasat River, a tributary of the Ataran River in neighboring Myanmar.   
      
   "When we first collected specimens, we thought it must be widespread in   
   Myanmar because of its popularity in the aquarium trade. But it turns   
   out it's not.   
      
   It's only in the Ataran River basin," he said.   
      
   Page and his colleagues published the new species description in the   
   journal Zootaxa. Redtails take their place among nearly 200 additional   
   species in the genus Garra, one of the most diverse and widely distributed   
   fish groups anywhere on Earth. Garra can be found in streams and rivers   
   from the farthest reaches of western Africa through the Middle East,   
   India and southern and eastern Asia, including parts of China. Yet   
   their ubiquity has not resulted in a corresponding amount of research   
   on the group.   
      
   "There's surprisingly little information on their natural history,"   
   Page said.   
      
   There are few studies that broadly assess diversity in the genus, and   
   little is known about relationships or how various groups within Garra   
   have diversified.   
      
   According to Page, basic information about the fishes' biology is   
   available, but often in the form of studies on individual species   
   or regions. "Most of them live in fast-moving water, and they have a   
   disclike structure formed from a modification of the lower lip, which   
   they use as an adhesive pad to cling to rocks and maintain their position   
   in the water column as they feed," he said.   
      
   Garra primarily subsist on algae and the occasional arthropod, which they   
   eat by scraping detritus off rocks with specialized mouthparts. Like other   
   species in the genus, redtails lack stomachs and have a snout encrusted   
   with modified and hardened scales called tubercles. Similar structures   
   in other fish groups are temporary; they're used to defend nests but   
   fall off after the breeding season has ended. Redtail tubercles are   
   permanently attached and seem to be used as weapons, based on aggressive   
   behavior observed in aquaria.   
      
   Redtail garra can be distinguished by their unique, elongated snout,   
   covered in even more tubercles, which they can raise or lower, ostensibly   
   as a means of intimidating opponents during combative encounters. And,   
   as their common name suggests, their tails are emblazoned in red like   
   a signal fire.   
      
   Their unique color pattern and their industrious ability to clear away   
   algae have made them a coveted component of aquarium tanks, but their late   
   addition to the roster of scientifically described species underscores   
   a pressing need to take stock of biodiversity in understudied regions.   
      
   Page, who is working on a book describing the fishes of the Mae Klong   
   River basin in Thailand, said the belated description of redtail garra is   
   part of a larger recurring pattern. "Many of the fishes in Southeast Asia   
   are referred to by names given to species discovered in India or Indonesia   
   because they look similar." People know particular species exist, Page   
   said, but they are mistaken for those from other geographic areas,   
   and their diversity has consequently been drastically underestimated.   
      
   Page and his colleagues named the new species Garra panitvongi after   
   the author of another book on Thailand's fishes, Nonn Panitvong. Lauded   
   as a biodiversity hero by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,   
   Panitvong is both a businessman and an avid naturalist. He's nurtured   
   a passion for nature since his childhood days spent translating books   
   about animals written in English with the help of his mom. He developed   
   a special appreciation for Thailand's aquatic life from his dad, who   
   took him on fishing trips.   
      
   "Over the years, I found that in many of the places we went fishing,   
   the environments were getting worse. There were fewer fish overall, and   
   the fish assemblage changed for the worse, with a decreasing number of   
   native species and more invasives," he said.   
      
   Panitvong obtained a Master of Business Administration at the University   
   of North Carolina Wilmington so he could effectively run his family's   
   sugarcane farm, but when it came time for a doctorate, he opted to study   
   environmental science. After returning to Thailand, he created the website   
   Siamensis.org, an open platform on which nature enthusiasts could share   
   information about Thailand's flora and fauna and plan excursions to   
   wilderness areas.   
      
   In 2006, Panitvong and a friend discovered one of Thailand's redtail garra   
   populations and helped introduce the fish to the aquarium trade. Now,   
   more than 15 years later, he said the official naming of redtail garra   
   -- and the discovery of species like it -- help bring the world into   
   clearer focus.   
      
   "I like to imagine humanity in a big room, painted in white. As we turned   
   around, we would have no conception of which direction we were facing,"   
   he said. "With each new discovery, a dot is added, a point made, and we   
   know more and more about where we stand as a species."   
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   Worthy_of_a_Toast Story Source: Materials provided by   
   Florida_Museum_of_Natural_History. Original written by Jerald   
   Pinson. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
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       * Redtail_garra   
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Weerapongse Tangjitjaroen, Zachary S. Randall, Sampan Tongnunui,   
      David A.   
      
         Boyd, Lawrence M. Page. Species of Garra (Cyprinidae: Labeoninae) in   
         the Salween River basin with description of an enigmatic new species   
         from the Ataran River drainage of Thailand and Myanmar. Zootaxa,   
         2023; 5311 (3): 375 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5311.3.3   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230710180503.htm   
      
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