Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Puntius Sanctus
Mains level: NA
Velankanni in Tamil Nadu has thrown up a new species of small freshwater fish.
Last year one species from our newscard: Species in news: Hump-backed Mahseer made it into the CSP 2019. The ‘Puntius Sanctus’ fish in the newscard creates such a vibe yet again.
A stand-alone species being mentioned in the news for the first time (and that too from Southern India) find their way into the prelims. Make special note here.
Q. Consider the following pairs
Wildlife Naturally found in 1. Blue-finned Mahseer Cauvery River 2. Irrawaddy Dolphin Chambal River 3. Rusty-spotted Cat Eastern Ghats Which of the pairs given correctly matched? (CSP 2019)
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Puntius Sanctus
- The silver-hued fish has been named Puntius Sanctus — ‘Sanctus’ is Latin for holy — after the popular pilgrim town.
- Encountered in a small waterbody in Venlankanni, Puntius Sanctus is small, it grows to a length of 7 cm.
- It found to use both as food and as an aquarium draw.
- “The Puntius species are known locally as ‘Paral’ in Kerala and ‘Kende’ in Tamil Nadu.
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