Occurrence of Kryptoglanis shajii, an enigmatic subterranean-spring catfish (Siluriformes, Incertae sedis) in the channels of paddy fields

Kryptoglanis shajii is a recently discovered catfish from the extreme western side of the Western Ghats, Chalakudy in Thrissur District, Kerala, India1. This fish is called ‘enigmatic catfish’ due to its habitat, the subterranean streams1. The only available description of this species is based on specimens collected from a newly dug artificial well (depth 6 m), where these fishes were found to enter with groundwater flowing from crevices in the laterite1. The salient features of K. shajii are the absence of dorsal fin, subcutaneous eyes, upward-directed mouth with distinctly projecting lower jaw, four pairs of barbells and fanshaped pectoral fins without any spines. In this species, anal fin is completely confluent with caudal fin and the resultant long fin has 70–74 fin rays1.