Description of a new species of Hypselobarbus from Kerala region of Western Ghats, peninsular India (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae)

Hypselobarbus kurali (Menon & Rema Devi, 1995) consists of multiple species with similarity in the colour pattern of the tip of their caudal fins being orange and black. This complex of species possesses two pairs of barbels. Inspection of collections of H. kurali from the senior author’s samples from various streams/rivers of Western Ghats covering the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka revealed that an additional species has gone unrecognized. This new species, Hypselobarbus keralaensis, is diagnosed from its likely closest relative H. kurali by having fewer transverse breast scale rows (16 vs. 21-23) and fewer pre-anal scale rows (38-39 vs. 43-46).