Malabar black-backed barb

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The Malabar black-backed barb (Puntius nigronotus) is a freshwater fish from the carp family found in the Western Ghats of Kerala, India.

Discovered in 2012 and described in 2014 by Prof. Dr. Mathews Plamoottil, this species was identified from the Mananthavady River in the high-altitude hills of the Wayanad district. It is inside the Nilgiri biosphere and may also occur in the Kabani River, since the Mananthavady joins Kabani. The holotype specimen used to describe the species weighs about 10.5 cm and is catalogued as ZSI FF 5285.

The fish stands out for its black back, higher body shape, and shorter maxillary barbels (whiskers). It has a small mouth opening, a row of long, tiny black dots on the back fin, and a pale orange-red dorsal fin. The pectoral, pelvic, and anal fins are whitish-yellow, while the tail fin is a dirty yellow. The body is dark black on top, blackish brown along the sides, and silvery white on the belly. The eye is positioned behind and above the jaw angle, and the nostrils are short tube-like openings. The species has 27 scales along its side, nine branched rays on the dorsal fin (with the last ray unbranched and weak), and six branched rays on the anal fin. There are some long black spots in the dorsal fin rays and a patch of bluish-black dots on the caudal area.

This species is not heavily exploited and is known from a relatively small region in the Western Ghats.