Pune, Apr 5: Tejas Thackeray, who has been credited with finding at least three new species in the Western Ghats, and his team, discovered a new freshwater fish species and named it Schistura hiranyakeshi. The fish is found near Amboli in Sawantwadi
Tehsil (taluka) of Sindhudurg district. It was first spotted in the pond at the Mahadeo temple. The name of this fish is based on its sub species Schistura and the River Hiranyakeshi that flows nearby. Thus, they named it Schistura hiranyakeshi. In order to conserve (protect) this species, the Maharashtra government has declared this region as a biodiversity heritage site. The 2.11- hectare area is the 5th biodiversity heritage site in Maharashtra. The other four BHS or biodiversity heritage sites in Maharashtra include Glory of Allapalli in the district of Gadchiroli, Landor Khori Park in Jalgaon, Ganesh Khind in Pune, and the Myristica swamp in Sindhudurg.
Schitura hiranyakeshi is a freshwater loach (fish belonging to the superfamily of the Cobitoidea native to Eurasia and Northern Africa) which is small and lives in water with plenty of oxygen. The Myristica swamp (a special type of ecosystem) found in Sindhudurg is so rare that it is found at only 3 Indian locations.
