Dario huli Britz & Ali, 2015

Family:  Badidae (Chameleonfishes)
Max. size:  2.37 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  benthopelagic; freshwater
Distribution:  Asia: a small tributary stream of the Tunga River in Karnataka, India.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 13-13; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9-10; Anal spines: 3-3; Anal soft rays: 7-8; Vertebrae: 26-26. Dario huli is distinguished from all congeners, except D. urops, by having a conspicuous black blotch on the caudal-fin base and the anterior dorsal-fin lappets in males not being produced beyond the fin spines. It can be diagnosed from D. urops by having the following characters: horizontal suborbital stripe absent (vs. suborbital stripe present); a series of up to 8 black bars on the body (vs. 2-3 black bars restricted to the caudal peduncle); an oval caudal-fin blotch with a lighter bar in front of it, sometimes inconspicuous (vs. a round blotch with a curved, halo-like lighter area); 25 scales in a lateral row (vs. 28); 13+13=26 vertebrae (vs. 14+14-15=28-29); 3-5 tubed lateral-line scales (vs. tubed lateral-line scales completely absent); and teeth on hypobranchial 3 (vs. absence of teeth) (Ref. 98908).
Biology:  Occurs in a small, clearwater stream, up to 5 m wide and 2 m deep, with sandy bottom and larger rocks and boulders. Collected from among vegetation hanging down into the water along the edges of the stream. Found associated with the following fish species: Devario malabaricus, Rasbora dandia, Danio rerio, Lepidocephalichthys thermalis, Acanthocobitis cf. mooreh, Pterocryptis wynaadensis, Mastacembelus cf. armatus, Channa cf. gachua, and Pseudosphromenus cupanus (Ref. 98908).
IUCN Red List Status: Data deficient (DD); Date assessed: 30 June 2020 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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