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Schizopygopsis waddellii, a cold-adapted high-altitude fish of the family Cyprinidae, has been recorded in India for the first time.
Ten specimens were collected in July 2026 from Pangkang Teng Tso Lake, at about 12,800 feet in Tawang district, Arunachal Pradesh.
Scientists of ICAR-Central Institute of Coldwater Fisheries Research, Bhimtal, confirmed the identity using integrative taxonomy - morphology plus mitochondrial DNA analysis.
The species was previously known from the Tibetan and Chinese plateau, including Yamdrok Lake in Tibet, so the record extends its known range into India.
National institute for coldwater fisheries research; led the survey and identification
Apex agricultural research body under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education
Identifying a species by combining evidence - external form, counts of fins and scales, and genetic markers such as mitochondrial DNA. It avoids the errors of relying on appearance alone, since closely related high-altitude fishes often look nearly identical.
Simple Analogy: Confirming identity with a photo and a fingerprint, not just the photo.
Pangkang Teng Tso lies in Tawang district in the north-west corner of Arunachal Pradesh, part of the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot. The district, reached through Sela Pass, sits close to the border with China and holds several high-altitude lakes that are habitats for cold-water fauna.
A plant of the sunflower family described from Tawang in August 2026 - the district is yielding repeated new records for India.
One of the global hotspots represented in India, along with the Western Ghats-Sri Lanka, Indo-Burma and Sundaland (Nicobar Islands).
Cold-water Cyprinidae such as Schizothorax and Schizopygopsis are the mainstay of Himalayan hill-stream fisheries, the mandate area of ICAR-CICFR.
GS Paper III > Conservation, biodiversity; Prelims species-in-news
General Awareness > Environment and biodiversity in news
Consider the following rivers: 1. Barak 2. Lohit 3. Subansiri Which of the above flows/flow through Arunachal Pradesh?
Answer: 2 and 3 only
Which one of the following pairs of States of India indicates the easternmost and westernmost State?
Answer: Arunachal Pradesh and Gujarat
Which one of the following National Parks has a climate that varies from tropical to subtropical, temperate and arctic?
Answer: Namdapha National Park
Consider the following States: 1. Arunachal Pradesh 2. Himachal Pradesh 3. Mizoram In which of the above States do 'Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests' occur?
Answer: 1 and 3 only
In which one of the following States is Pakhui Wildlife Sanctuary located?
Answer: Arunachal Pradesh
The first documented occurrence of an already-known species in a country or region, as distinct from describing a new species
The carp and minnow family, the largest family of freshwater fishes
Use of genes in the mitochondria, inherited maternally, as markers to confirm species identity