Puntius nigronotus

The holotype ZSI FF 5285 was found on the Mananthavady river in the high altitude hilly Wayanad district in Kerala The Malabar black-backed barb is different from the rest of the Puntius species by many features. The length of the holotype specimen was 105.1 millimeter. Unique features of this fish are Black colored back side, shorter maxillary barbels, small width of mouth gape, a higher body, a row of long tiny black color dots on the fin of back and the other fin on back is short and it has 9 branched rays and the last dorsal fin ray is not branched and it is very weak and it is ossified and pliable. There are branched 6 rays in anal fin and 27 scales in the side. Another unique feature is the position of the eye which is placed behind and above the jaws angle and bulging above the head making it visible from below and the nostrils are in form of short tubes protruding out.

It is so for known only from Mananthavady River in Mananthavady it has its origin in Western Ghats . There is a good chance of finding them in Kabani River also the holotype ZSI FF 5285 as Mananthavady river joins the Kabani river. Little is exploited here as it is inside the Nilgiri biosphere area.