• January 15, 2005: Headlines: COS - Nepal: Biology: Catfish: Kansas City Star: RPCV David Edds discovers new species of catfish in Nepal  Saturday, January 15, 2005 - 12:38 pm [1]

Nepal RPCV David Edds discovers new species of bagrid catfish



Nepal RPCV David Edds discovers new species of bagrid catfish

New species - Batasio macronotus

Caption: The photo above is of a Batasio havmolleri, a species of Bagrid catfish found in Thailand, and is *not* the Batasio macronotus found in Nepal

A new species of bagrid catfish has been described from the waters of the Kosi River drainage in eastern Nepal.

Heok Hee Ng and David Edds described the new catfish as Batasio macronotus in the latest issue of the journal Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters.

The fish was discovered by David Edds of Emporia State University in Kansas during an ichthyological survey of Nepal, and was found to be a new fish when it was compared with other existing members of the Batasio genus.

Unlike most other Batasio species, with the notable exception of B. batasio, B. macronotus has a colour pattern of horizontal stripes rather than the usual vertical bands or blotches.

It's also got a shorter dorsal spine than batasio and the base of the adipose fin is slightly longer.

There are 10 species in the genus, including: B. batasio, B. tengana, B. affinis, B. dayi, B. merianensis, B. havmolleri, B. travancoria, B. tigrinus, B. elongatus and B. sharavatiensis, with an eleventh fish, B. pakistanicus, also tentatively considered a member.

For more details see the paper: Ng, HH and DR Edds (2004) - Batasio macronotus, a new species of bagrid catfish from Nepal (Teleostei: Bagridae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, Vol. 15., No. 4. 295-300.

More at: PFK (Tue December 7, 2004, 9:10 am)

When this story was posted in December 2004, this was on the front page of PCOL:

Changing of the Guard With Lloyd Pierson's departure, Marie Wheat has been named acting Chief of Staff and Chief of Operations responsible for the day-to-day management of the Peace Corps. Although Wheat is not an RPCV and has limited overseas experience, in her two years at the agency she has come to be respected as someone with good political skills who listens and delegates authority and we wish her the best in her new position.

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December 18, 2004: This Week's Top Stories RPCV remembers Deborah Gardner's murder in Tonga 17 Dec Maoist insurgents in Nepal release Swiss aid worker 17 Dec RPCV Alison Williams exhibits portraits of Malian people 16 Dec Former Brazil Medical Director convicted of drug charges 16 Dec RPCV Joseph Opala researched slave trade in RI 15 Dec Vasquez sees resurgent interest in PC 14 Dec Senator who wanted duel with RPCV joins Fox 14 Dec NPCA planning National Day of Action for PC funding 13 Dec RPCV "Harry" Chandler votes in Electoral College 13 Dec Critic says Moyers delivered neo-Marxist propaganda 13 Dec Micronesia RPCV Walter Cavanagh has 1,496 credit cards 13 Dec PC "Survivor" Julie Berry headed for California 11 Dec more top stories...

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Our debt to Bill Moyers Former Peace Corps Deputy Director Bill Moyers leaves PBS next week to begin writing his memoir of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Read what Moyers says about journalism under fire, the value of a free press, and the yearning for democracy. "We have got to nurture the spirit of independent journalism in this country," he warns, "or we'll not save capitalism from its own excesses, and we'll not save democracy from its own inertia."

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Is Gaddi Leaving? Rumors are swirling that Peace Corps Director Vasquez may be leaving the administration. We think Director Vasquez has been doing a good job and if he decides to stay to the end of the administration, he could possibly have the same sort of impact as a Loret Ruppe Miller. If Vasquez has decided to leave, then Bob Taft, Peter McPherson, Chris Shays, or Jody Olsen would be good candidates to run the agency. Latest: For the record, Peace Corps has no comment on the rumors.

The Birth of the Peace Corps UMBC's Shriver Center and the Maryland Returned Volunteers hosted Scott Stossel, biographer of Sargent Shriver, who spoke on the Birth of the Peace Corps. This is the second annual Peace Corps History series - last year's speaker was Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn.

Vote "Yes" on NPCA's bylaw changes Take our new poll. NPCA members begin voting this week on bylaw changes to streamline NPCA's Board of Directors. NPCA Chair Ken Hill, the President's Forum and other RPCVs endorse the changes. Mail in your ballot or vote online (after Dec 1), then see on how RPCVs are voting.

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Your vote makes a difference Make a difference on November 2 - Vote. Then take our RPCV exit poll. See how RPCV's are voting and take a look at the RPCV voter demographic. Finally leave a message on why you voted for John Kerry or for George Bush. Previous poll results here.

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