Triplophysa Rendahl,1933

Sharma, Indu, 2023, New record of Loach fish (Cypriniformes: Nemacheilidae) from Himachal Pradesh, Trans Himalayan Ecosystem, India, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 123 (3), pp. 251-254 : 252

Genus: Triplophysa Rendahl,1933

Genus/Species: Triplophysa tenuicauda (Steindachner,1866)

1866. Cobitis tenuicauda Steindachner, Verhandlungen der K.- K. zoologisch-botanischen

Gesellschaft in Wien, pl. 17 (Fig. 3) v. 16: 792 (type locality: Stream near Hanle monastery, Hanle , Tibet) .

1991, Triplophysa tenuicauda, Talwar and Jhingran, Inland Fishes , 1: 515

Common name: Tibetan Stone Loach

Material examined: 02 exs., Losar, Takcha, Spiti Valley, Lahaul & Spiti, Coll. A. Kumar and Party, 16. xi. 2018, Regd. No. 989

Diagnostic characters: Elongated, narrow body having a long and whip-like tail. Head pointed and comparatively broader than height. Eyes are not very small but not visible from the ventral surface of the body. Nostrils situated nearer to the eye than the tip of the snout. Mouth semicircular, lips fleshy, deeply furrowed, upper lip uninterrupted and lower lip interrupted in the middle. Barbels are well developed. The dorsal fin is inserted nearer to the base of the caudal fin than to the snout tip. The pelvic fin is situated opposite to the dorsal fin. The length of the head is almost equal to the pectoral and caudal fin length. Caudal fin truncate, narrow and long. Scales absent; lateral line complete. Body and flanks were spotted with brownish colour and distinct russet spots occurred all along the lateral line of the body. Morphometric data of the specimens has been recorded ( Table 1).

Distribution: India: Ladakh (UT), Losar, Takacha River- Spiti Valley, district Lahaul and Spiti (H.P.)- Present Record; Elsewhere: Pakistan, China.