Bikramjit Sinha

A new species and a new record of the subgenus Dilatognathus Kluge 2012 (Ephemeroptera: Leptophlebiidae: genus Choroterpes Eaton, 1881) from India

A new species belonging to the subgenus Dilatognathus of the genus Choroterpes is described based on larvae collected from Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Choroterpes (Dilatognathus) nicobarensis n. sp. can be distinguished from all other species of Dilatognathus by the absence of a tusk on the maxillary apex, has ventro-apical flange and dentiseta directed distally, as in Choroterpes other than Dilatognathus. Choroterpes (Dilatognathus) nigella (Kang & Yang 1994) is newly recorded based on larvae collected in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and West Bengal. Remarks on the evolution of the mouth apparatus of the subgenus Dilatognathus are given.

Exostoma tenuicaudata , a new species of glyptosternine catfish (Siluriformes: Sisoridae) from the upper Brahmaputra drainage, northeastern India

Glyptosternines are highly specialized sisorid catfishes with greatly depressed body profiles; enlarged, horizontally extended paired fins, modified for adhesion, typically inhabiting torrential waters in rocky mountain streams and rivers. Their range of distribution extends from the upper reaches of the Amu Darya River drainage in Turkmenistan southwards and eastwards to Indochina and the Yangtze River (Changjiang) drainage of central China, and the Mekong and Salween drainages in northern and western Thailand (Vidthayanon et al . 2009; Ng & Vidthayanon 2014).

Status of studies on zooplankton fauna of Arunachal Pradesh, India

This paper gives a brief review of the studies on zooplankton fauna of Arunachal Pradesh, the major shareholder of the eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot. Altogether, 66 species of zooplankton (45 Rotifera, 20 Cladocera, & one Copepoda) have been recorded along with their distribution in the state, wherever available. It is apparent that there is a lack of serious taxonomic studies on all three major groups of zooplankton from this Himalayan state. The urgency and importance of documenting the zooplankton fauna of this biogeographically unique and biodiversity-rich state is highlighted in view of the fragility of the ecosystem as well as the effect of climate change.

Physoschistura walongensis, a new species of loach (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae) from Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India.

Physoschistura walongensis, new species, is described from the bank of the Lohit River (upper Brahmaputra River basin) in the eastern most part of the state Arunachal Pradesh at an altitude of 1096 m above sea level. The new species is distinguished from its congeners by the following combination of characters: an incomplete lateral line extending at least to the anal-fin origin and maximally to the tip of the adpressed anal fin, with 71-89 canal pores; a rounded suborbital flap, the posterior margin of which slightly exceeds the anterior orbital margin, occupying less orbital area; body with 11-18 irregular vertical bars on the flank, bars more irregular on the anterior portion of the body than on posterior; 1-4 bars bifurcate ventrally; 1-4 saddles along the ventrolateral side of the body; a moderately thick W-shaped basicaudal bar; a prominent axillary pelvic fin lobe; dark brown mottled markings on the head; and forked caudal fin with 9 upper + 8 lower branched rays.

Two new species of the South Asian catfish genus Pseudolaguvia from northeastern India (Teleostei: Sisoridae)

Two new species of sisorid catfish, Pseudolaguvia magna and P. jiyaensis, are described from the upper Brahmaputra River basin in Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India. Pseudolaguvia magna differs from its congeners by its much larger size (47.0 mm standard length vs. a maximum of 35.6 mm), by having a broader rhomboid thoracic adhesive apparatus, two pale-brown or cream patches on the mid-dorsal region across the dorsal midline: one rectangular to elliptic patch on the mid-interdorsal region, and another indistinct elliptic to irregular patch between the adipose and caudal-fins; and a small, round, pale-brown to cream spot on the lateral side of the head; and except for P. inornata, P. austrina, P. virgulata, and P. assula, in lacking pale to cream cross-bands on the body. Another syntopic new species, Pseudolaguvia jiyaensis, is distinguished from its congeners by having the thoracic adhesive apparatus almost reaching the pelvic-fin origin, and by having fewer vertebrae (25-27 vs. 28-34; except in P. tenebricosa and P. tuberculata). Details of the combination of characters differentiating each of the new species from its congeners are provided in the respective diagnoses.

India’s Organic Guarantee System: Novelty or Facsimile?

Given that transnational movement of organic products is also governed by standards, establishing a foothold in the international market for organic products, India too has to comply with these norms. Exploring the process, this chapter observes that as it is mandatory to get the organic products certified through an appropriate/authorized organic guarantee system before entering the global market, developing these systems has become an essential activity towards an outward-oriented organic sector. With a poor record of standard setting in the domestic organic sector, the potential of setting globally acceptable organic standards remains a difficult proposition.

Figure 4. A In Two New Species Of The South Asian Catfish Genus Pseudolaguvia From Northeastern India (Teleostei: Sisoridae)

FIGURE 4. a, Pseudolaguvia magna, ZSI / V / APRC / P- 948, paratype, 46.7 mm SL, showing the well developed weberian lamina, conspicuously visible externally; and b, the same region in Glyptothorax dikrongensis (ZSI V / APFS / P- 515, holotype, 94.2 mm SL), in which the weberian lamina remain hidden beneath the thick skin.