Scientists baptise new fish genus
Sri Lankan scientists have identified a new genus of fresh water fish
and named it after the evolutionary biologist and renowned atheist
Richard Dawkins. Lead researcher Rohan Pethiyagoda said the new genus,
named Dawkinsia,
A Dawkinsia Srilankens |
comprises nine species found only in South Asia and are characterised
by long filaments that trail from the dorsal fins of males.
The fish has previously been classified under the genus Puntius,
comprising around 120 species of small tropical fish known as barbs.
Pethiyagoda, an ichthyologist and internationally acclaimed
conservationist, said extensive studies in India and Sri Lanka showed
that the level of diversity among such fish was “much greater than
previously suspected”.
This was partly the reason that the study group had chosen to name
the new genus after the 71-year-old Dawkins, the British author of The
God Delusion.
“Richard Dawkins has through his writings helped us understand that
the universe is far more beautiful and awe-inspiring than any religion
has imagined,” Pethiyagoda told AFP yesterday.
“We hope that Dawkinsia will serve as a reminder of the elegance and
simplicity of evolution, the only rational explanation there is for the
unimaginable diversity of life on Earth,” he said. Male Dawkinsia barbs
advertise their fitness by growing long fin filaments that make them
more attractive to females but also dangerously conspicuous to
predators.
“The filaments are rather like the peacock’s tail, expensive
ornaments that place their owner at greater risk while offering him the
reward of being the preferred choice of females,” Pethiyagoda said.
The genus re-classification followed an eight-year study of the DNA,
bone structures and overall anatomy of Puntius species.
AFP
|