Whats in a fishs name? A lot, say experts

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Fish with no name, or fish with different local names, have always been a major hurdle in the conservation of small fishes in the state, most of which are not found anywhere else in the world. For the first time in the conservation history of fishes, scientists, naturalists and local fishermen are getting together to give each little fish a single common Malayalam name. The workshop, titled ‘Meeninu oru peru’, is being organised by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) in collaboration with the Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, University of Kerala, on Friday at the Government Guest House here. If the name ‘kallu nakki’ is a Malayalam name for a fish scientifically called Garra in one part of Kerala, in other parts of the state the same name has been given to the fishes that are called Bhavania, Travancoria and Homaploptera. The confusion arises because all these varieties of fish attach to a rock or ‘kallu’, giving it the obvious name, ‘kallu nakki’.   ‘’A large number of new fishes have been recorded from Kerala and they are yet to be given Malayalam names. The fish discovered from wells of Kerala, scientifically named Horaglanis krishnai, also awaits a formal name in Malayalam. This blind fish living in subterraneous waters will get the name ‘kurudan mushi,’’’ said A Biju Kumar, head of the KU Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries.  There is yet another suggestion to name the freshwater puffer fish Carinotetraodon travancoricus as ‘thavalapottan’ as it possesses black spots on the body, resembling the frog Rana hexadactyla.  Apart from conservation of fish, the unification of the vernacular names of the freshwater fishes is expected to be helpful for  natural history studies also. The names in the workshop will be finalised after considering various prevailing names as well as some special features such as appearance, shape, size, habit, habitat, lifestyles and behaviour, colour and utility, among others. B Madhusoodana Kurup, Vice-Chancellor of Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, will inaugurate the workshop on Friday.