Aquarium Fish Redtail Garra Listed as New Species After More Than 20 Years of First Sighting

Over 20 years after its initial discovery, the fish redtail garra, which quickly became a favorite in aquariums, has just been recognized as a new species.

New Species of Fish: Redtail Garra

Since the early 2000s, the fish species has been a favorite for aquarium owners, but for a legitimate scientific finding, a species must be examined in its natural environment. That explains in part why it has been so long before it received an official categorization.

In one instance, specialists discovered several redtail garras while conducting research near the Kasat River, which feeds into the Ataran River in Myanmar, along the boundary between Thailand and Myanmar. From there, they were able to conduct the fish's most thorough examination yet.

Ichthyologist Larry Page of the Florida Museum of Natural History recalled that due to its prominence in the aquarium trade when they first began collecting specimens, they assumed it must be common in Myanmar.

According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, it turns out that it isn't because it only exists in the Ataran River basin and there is remarkably little information available about its natural history.

The new species is intriguing in a number of ways, including its distinctive coloring and name-giving red tail. Although they occasionally consume arthropods, they primarily eat algae, which naturally aids in the maintenance of aquariums.

These fish have highly adapted mouths with a disc-like feature on the lower lip that aids in stability while they are feeding in swiftly moving water. They also have a nose that has become hardened and covered in crud, which appears to be a protection mechanism.

In the Garra genus, one of the most diversified groupings there is - both physiologically and geographically - the redtail garra joins approximately 200 other species. These fish are widespread in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

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In the Name of Conservation

Along with the release of their species categorization, the researchers have urged further research into properly identifying fish in areas like these, as doing so will help give a better understanding of how to safeguard them.

Famous novelist and ichthyologist Nonn Panitvong, who discovered a population of the fish in Thailand in 2006, is the origin of the new species name, Garra panitvongi. Despite not being a part of the new research directly, Panitvong has devoted his life to advancing biodiversity, Science Alert reports.

The late description of redtail garra, according to Page, who is writing a book about the fishes of Thailand's Mae Klong River basin, is a recurring pattern.

Page suggests that numerous fish species found in Southeast Asia are identified by names that were originally assigned to species discovered in India or Indonesia, owing to their striking resemblance. According to Page, people are aware that certain species exist, but because they are frequently confused with species from other regions, their diversity has been greatly overestimated, as per the Florida Museum of Natural History.

The research, done by Page and his team, has recently been published in the journal Zootaxa.