New Heritage Biodiversity site in Maharashtra

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An area at Amboli in Western ghats in Sindhudurg district, where a rare freshwater fish species was discovered, was declared as a biodiversity heritage site by the Maharashtra government on 31st March, 2021.

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Schistura Hiranyakeshi — a new fresh water fish species was discovered near Amboli in Sawantwadi tehsil of Sindhudurg district. It is a rare sub-species of Schistura, a freshwater loach. The fish was named after the Hiranyakeshi river near Amboli village.

Earlier few other sites were also declared as biodiversity heritage sites like the Glory of Allapalli in Gadchiroli district, Landor Khori Park in Jalgaon, Ganesh Khind in Pune, myristica swamp vegetation in Sindhudurg district.

Schistura is a small, colourful fish that lives in streams and rivers where oxygen is in abundance. The site was declared as a biodiversity site because it is a rare species and fishing can cause its extinction.

International journal on Ichthyology for the first time published about this rare species of fish.