INTERNATIONAL

ITWIT 2021
TRAINING WORKSHOP ON
ICHTYOTAXONOMY
MARCH 23 to 27, 2021

Organized by
Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries
UNIVERSITY OF KERALA
Thiruvananthapuram - 695 581, Kerala State, India

In association with
Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS)
Kochi - 682 506, Kerala State, India

Supported by
UNIVERSITY OF KERALA
 ABOUT THE WORKSHOP

G
lobal biodiversity is being lost at an unprecedented rate as a result of several (and often
interacting) anthropogenic stressors, despite concerted international efforts to prevent and
reduce biodiversity loss, and develop strategies to overcome this alarming scenario. One of
the challenges in biodiversity documentation and conservation is the taxonomic impediment - the
lack of taxonomic expertise to catalogue the rich diversity of life, together with lesser importance
and priority given to this essential branch of life sciences. Even within the conservation framework,
taxonomy at the species level is often ignored and neglected in the name of ‘taxonomic sufficiency’
which surrogates the much-required science-based conservation planning and management.
Freshwater fishes comprise one of the most diverse and threatened vertebrate groups, with
the Indian subcontinent globally renowned for its unique diversity and endemism, and the
presence of hundreds of threatened species. Though the region has a rich history of ichthyological
research dating back to the late 18th century, there has been reduced recognition and attention
in this field during the last fifty years. Currently there are very few trained and internationally-
known ichthyologists in India, and few efforts to develop capacity among the next generation of
researchers and students. The proposed International Training Workshop on Ichthyotaxonomy
is an effort to strengthen the knowledge base in fundamentals of freshwater fish taxonomy, with
the help and support of leading global and regional experts in the field. The goal of the workshop
is to impart to participants the necessary skills and knowledge required to address the taxonomy
and systematics of freshwater fishes of the Indian subcontinent, from where possibly hundreds
of species are waiting to be discovered and described. The workshop will cover a range of topics
from basic taxonomic concepts, field work and preservation, museums and collections, morpho-
taxonomy, osteology, application of statistics, to advanced areas such as phylogenetics and
biogeography. There will also be sessions devoted to publication of taxonomic papers.
Who Can Participate? IMPORTANT
Early-career-researchers (PhD, Postdocs, Junior Scientists, DEADLINES
Assistant Professors) working on fish taxonomy, or fish
taxonomy-related projects, or post-graduate/master’s Last date for submission of
students currently undertaking fish taxonomy related application:
research. Amateurs engaged in studies related to fish March 15, 2021
diversity will also be selected after providing a reasonable
justification to participate in the workshop.
Communication for
acceptance of participants:
How to Apply? March 20, 2021
Interested candidates may submit their application
along with a short CV and justification, for participation
in the workshop. Masters students, PhD scholars,
research fellows and Postdoctoral researchers need to
submit the application through the concerned Head All participants will
of the Department/Mentor/Supervisor. Scientists and receive an e-certificate of
Faculty members are requested to produce a letter of attendance/participation
recommendation from their head of the Department.
 ORGANISING COMMITTEE
Patrons Organising Committee
Prof. V.P. Mahadevan Pillai Dr. S.M. Raffi, Dept. of Aquatic Biology and
(Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor, University of Kerala) Fisheries, UoK
Prof Dr. K. Riji John Dr. R.B. Pramod Kiran, Dept. of Aquatic Biology and
(Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor, Kerala University of Fisheries Fisheries, UoK
and Ocean Studies) Dr. Kurian Mathew Abraham, Dept. of Aquatic
Dr. Ajayakumar P.P. Biology and Fisheries, UoK
(Hon’ble Pro-Vice-Chancellor, University of Kerala) Dr. Mithun Sukumaran, Dept. of Aquatic Biology and
Fisheries, UoK
Advisors
Dr. Suvarna Devi S., Dept. of Aquatic Biology and
Dr. K.S. Anil Kumar, Registrar, UoK Fisheries, UoK
Dr. B. Manoj Kumar, Registrar-in-Charge, KUFOS Dr. Pramitha V.S., Dept. of Aquatic Biology and
Adv. K.H. Babujan, Member of Syndicate, UoK Fisheries, UoK
Dr. S. Nazeeb, Member of Syndicate, UoK Dr. M.K. Sajeevan, Dept. of Fisheries Resource
Dr. Gopchandra K.G., Member of Syndicate, UoK Management, KUFOS
Dr. Mini Dejo Kappen, Director, Planning & Dr. Anvar Ali, Dept. of Fisheries Resource
Development, UoK Management, KUFOS
Prof. Dr. Devika Pillai, Director of Research, and Dean, Dr. K. Ranjeet, Dept. of Aquatic Environment
Fisheries Faculty, KUFOS Management, KUFOS
Dr. A. Gangaprasad, Dean, Faculty of Science, UoK Course Directors
Dr. Radhamany P.M., Director, Dr. A. Bijukumar (University of Kerala) &
School of Life Sciences, UoK Dr. Rajeev Raghavan (KUFOS)

The application along with a brief CV and a justification for THERE WILL BE NO
participating in the workshop is to be submitted to REGISTRATION FEE
Dr. S. M. Raffi, Organising Secretary (ITWIT 2021) and selection to the
Department of Aquatic Biology & Fisheries, workshop will be based
University of Kerala on the involvement
Kariavattom, Thiruvananthapuram, 695 581, Kerala, India of participants in fish
Ph: 9497393516 | Email: [email protected] taxonomy research/study.
 WORKSHOPS SPEAKERS

Some of the world’s leading experts in the field of freshwater fish taxonomy and
systematics will deliver lectures and interact with the participants

W ith over 500 publications in the peer-reviewed

literature, Peter is one of the world’s foremost aquatic
taxonomists, and heads the Lee Kong Chian Natural History
Museum in Singapore. Having started his career as a fish
taxonomist, Peter’s current work is centered on the diversity
Peter K. L. Ng and biology of marine and freshwater crabs in the Indo-West
Lee Kong Chian Natural History Pacific. Explorations, discoveries of new habitats and new
Museum, National University of species, understanding their evolution and conserving them
Singapore, Singapore are all missions of his laboratory at the National University of
Singapore.

R OHAN is one of Asia’s finest naturalists,former Deputy

Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, and
a leading expert on the taxonomy of freshwater fishes.
Together with colleagues, Rohan has been responsible for
the discovery and/or description of almost 150 new species
Rohan Pethiyagoda of vertebrates and invertebrates from Sri Lanka and the
Ichthyology Section, Australian Western Ghats, including fishes, amphibians,reptiles and
Museum, Sydney, Australia freshwater crabs. He is an Editor of the Asian freshwater
fish section of Zootaxa.
 WORKSHOPS SPEAKERS

V ISHWANATH is one of India’s leading freshwater fish

taxonomists known for his exemplary contributions to
improving the knowledge on the ichthyofauna of the Eastern
Himalaya, and also for its efforts in training and capacity building
in taxonomy and systematics in North Eastern India. He is credited
Vishwanath Waikhom with the discovery and description of more than 100 species of
Department of Life Sciences, fish. A new genus of freshwater fish, Waikhomia was recently
Manipur University, Imphal, India named in his honour.

R ALF is interested in understanding comparative anatomy,

phylogenetics, and taxonomy of actinopterygian and
sarcopterygian fishes, ranging from general questions of
evolutionary biology and homology, and higher-level relationships
to basal problems in taxonomy and systematics of various fish
groups. Ralf has described more than 100 species of fish, several
Ralf Britz new genera, and two unique families, including one of the world’s
Senckenberg Natural History smallest vertebrate (Paedocypris progenetica) and the enigmatic
Collections, Dresden, Germany living fossil- the dragon snakehead (Aenigmachanna gollum).

R OBERTO is a Professor and Curator of Fishes at the

Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul
in Brazil. He is an authority on the systematics and
biodiversity of Neotropical catfishes, and has till this
date described over 100 fish species, and several new
Roberto Esser dos Reis genera. Roberto is currently the South America Chair
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio of the IUCN’s Freshwater Fish Specialist Group, and an
Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil editorial board member of Copeia and PLoS One.
 WORKSHOPS SPEAKERS

J ÖRG’S research activities focus on aquatic biodiversity

explorations, molecular systematics, evolutionary genetics
and international biodiversity policies. His publication ‘Handbook
of European Freshwater Fishes’ is one of the most highly cited
works in fish taxonomy and conservation. Jörg has discovered and
Jörg Freyhof described over 100 new species of freshwater fish to science from
Natural History Museum, Berlin, various parts of Asia and Europe, and is an Editor of the Middle
Germany East Asian freshwater fish section of Zootaxa.

O LIVER (Ollie) Crimmen is a Senior Curator at the Fish Section

of the Natural History Museum (British Museum of Natural
History), London. Ollie joined the Museum in 1973 aged 19, and
is one of its longest serving staff members. He is responsible for
preserving and maintaining of one of the most important fish
Oliver Crimmen collections in the world including several hundred fish types from
Natural History Museum, London, the Indian subcontinent comprising of the collections of Sir Francis
United Kingdom Day and Albert Günther.

L UKAS is curator of Ichthyology and Herpetology at the

Museum of Natural History of Bern, where he studies the
patterns and processes of evolutionary diversification at
different spatial and temporal scales, by focusing on fish
adaptive radiations and biodiversity hotspots. His current
Lukas Rüber research focuses on the diversity of south east Asian fishes,
Natural History Museum, Bern, miniature fishes and their development, mechanisms of
Switzerland speciation in cichlids, and evolution in gobies.
 WORKSHOPS SPEAKERS

M ADHAVA is interested in the evolutionary biology of both

fishes and amphibians of Southern Asia. He has published
>70 papers, including four in SCIENCE, and has described more
than 50 species of frogs, freshwater fishes and a small mammal,
together with several significant contributions to higher order
Madhava Meegaskumbura taxon classification. He serves as a Co-Chair for the IUCN
Guangxi University, Nanning, P.R. Amphibian Specialist Group Sri Lanka and is also a member of the
China IUCN Amphibian Red List Authority.

J .A. JOHNSON is a Senior Scientist at the Wildlife Institute of

India, where he works on the taxonomy, ecological structure
and conservation of freshwater fishes. Though he started his
career working in the streams of the Western Ghats, Johnson’s
recent work has expanded to the Himalayan waters of the Ganges,
J.A. Johnson Brahmaputra and Indus systems as well as the poorly-studied
Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Central Indian landscape. He currently works on a project focusing
India on the long-term monitoring of fish populations in selected
regions of the Indian subcontinent.

H EOK HUI TAN is based at the Lee Kong Chian Natural

History Museum of the National University of Singapore.
His main interest lies in the systematics of Southeast Asian
freshwater fishes, encompassing taxonomy, ecology and
biogeography, with particular focus on hill-stream loaches.
Heok-Hui Tan Heok-Hui’s primary areas of research focus on neglected and
Lee Kong Chian Natural History de novo habitats such as peat swamp forests, swamp forests,
Museum, National University of and rapids
Singapore, Singapore
 WORKSHOPS SPEAKERS

M ICHAEL is curator of fishes at the Museum and Art

Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, Australia
where his work involves biodiversity assessment and
species discovery, linking the taxonomy and ecology of
fishes into wider conservation issues, providing key advice
Michael Hammer to management, promoting awareness of fishes and their
Museum and Art Gallery of the plight, and specific recovery action.
Northern Territory, Darwin, Australia

K EVIN is an Associate Professor/Curator of Fishes,

Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collections at the
Texas A&M University. The central goal of his research is
to document the taxonomic, anatomical, ontogenetic,
and genetic diversity of teleost fishes, not only to further
Kevin Conway understanding of vertebrate anatomy in general, but also
Texas A&M University, College to discover novel characters to advance our understanding
Station, United States of of the phylogenetic relationships of teleost fishes.
America

G EORGE is based at the Universidade Federal de São

Carlos, Brazil where his research focus is on taxonomy,
developmental biology and anatomy of fishes. His
current project investigates the diversity and systematics
of Priocharax, a characiform genus of miniature fishes.
George Mattox George and colleagues described Cyanogasternoctivaga
Departamento de Biologia (DBio), or the blue-bellied night wanderer, a tiny, nocturnal,
Universidade Federal de São Carlos, and transparent fish which is also one of the smallest
São Carlos, Brazil vertebrates attaining a maximum length of only 17 mm.
 WORKSHOPS SPEAKERS

N EELESH is a Research Scientist at Indian Institute of Science

Education and Research (IISER), Pune, India, where he
carries out research on taxonomy, molecular phylogenetics and
biogeography of freshwater fishes. He has been instrumental
in popularizing integrative taxonomy for understanding the
Neelesh Dahanukar diversity of freshwater fishes of the Western Ghats, and has
Indian Institute of Science Education described one family, four genera and 20 species of freshwater
and Research, Pune, India fish, and a new genus and 10 species of amphibians

S IBY PHILIP is an Assistant Professor at Nirmalagiri

College, Kannur, India. For his PhD at the University of
Porto, Portugal, Siby studied the evolutionary comparative
genomics of vertebrates. Siby is interested in the application of
novel tools and techniques to answer questions in molecular
Siby Philip phylogenetics and biogeography, and has also developed
Nirmalagiri College, Kannur innovative methods for DNA isolation. He is a self-confessed
University, Kannur, India linux, and open-source software enthusiast

M ARCUS is a Scientist at the Ministry of

Environment, Forests and Climate Change,
Government of India. Having kept fish since he was
a kid, Marc is an avid fish hobbyist who completed
his PhD on the taxonomy of small cyprinids of the
J.D. Marcus Knight Western Ghats. His work has resulted in the description
Ministry of Environment, Forests of 19 new species of freshwater fishes from various
and Climate Change, Government of biogeographic regions of India including the Western
India, New Delhi, India Ghats and the Eastern Himalayas.
 WORKSHOPS SPEAKERS

R AMESHORI is an Assistant Professor at the Manipur University,

India. Her research interests are on the taxonomy, systematics
and molecular phylogenetics of freshwater fishes of North East
India, particularly in the rivers of Mizoram and Manipur. Her PhD
on sisorid catfishes of the North East Indian region resulted in the
Rameshori Yumnam description of four new species of Glyptothorax. She is actively
Department of Life Science, Manipur involved in building capacity in aquatic biodiversity and freshwater
University, Imphal, Manipur fish taxonomy in the region.

A NIL is a Scientist at the Estuarine Biology Regional Centre

of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) at Gopalpur-on-Sea,
Odisha. He has over a decade’s experience in aquatic biodiversity
studies and taxonomy of estuarine and coastal finfishes,
particularly focusing on eels of the order Anguilliformes. He has
Anil Mohapatra described 14 new species of fish from the coastal waters of India,
Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), and has to his credit several papers documenting new records of
Gopalpur-on-Sea, Odisha marine eel species from the region.

A DRIAN PINDER is based at the Bournemouth University, Dorset,

United Kingdom and also the Trustee & Chair of the Mahseer
Trust, a conservation NGO working to ensure a sustainable future for
mahseers of the world. His area of expertise is fish biology, ecology
and conservation, particularly early larval ecology of freshwater fishes.
Adrian Pinder He has more than 30 years’ experience of monitoring and managing
Bournemouth University, Dorset, fish populations. His first visit to South India’s River Cauvery in 2010
United Kingdom signified the onset of a personal obsession to address some of the
many knowledge gaps which currently constrain the development of
effective conservation plans to protect mahseer.
 COURSE DIRECTORS

B IJU KUMAR is Professor and Head at the Department of

Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, University of Kerala. As
one of India’s leading aquatic taxonomists and biodiversity
experts, he has popularized and helped build capacity in
the subject, by training several young researchers in the
A Biju Kumar taxonomy and systematics of freshwater and marine
Department of Aquatic Biology invertebrates, and fishes. He has described 43 species
and Fisheries, University of Kerala, and 6 genera of aquatic organisms, and has close to 200
Thiruvananthapuram, India publications.
(http://www.abisys.in/)

R AJEEV is an Assistant Professor at the Kerala University

of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, and the South Asia
Coordinator of IUCN’s Freshwater Fish Specialist Group. He
studies fundamental and applied aspects of tropical aquatic
biodiversity, particularly focusing on systematics, life history,
Rajeev Raghavan evolutionary biogeography and conservation of freshwater
Department of Fisheries Resource fishes. He has described 18 new species, 3 genera and 2
Management, Kerala University of enigmatic families of freshwater fish, and a unique new
Fisheries and Ocean Studies, genus and species of blind subterranean shrimp, and has
Kochi, India over 150 publications.
(http://fishlab.in/)