Etymology
Its generic name, Dawkinsia, is named after renowned British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, for "his contribution to the public understanding of science and, in particular, of evolutionary science".
Diagnosis
Adults differ from all other South Asian Puntius by a combination of the following characters:
Distribution
Endemic to but widespread within the Western Ghats mountains region of southern India in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and possibly restricted to the south of the Karnataka.
Type locality is ' Alleppey ', also known as Alappuzha, situated between Vembanad Lake and the Arabian Sea, Kerala state, southwestern India
Habitat
According to Pethiyagoda and Kottelat (2005) this species is most common in lowland coastal floodplains. It is found in both fresh and brackish waters of rivers, estuaries, coastal marshes and reservoirs.
Fishing
Along the rivers of Kerala, these fishes grow in abundance and due to its high diet of worms and insects, they are easily caught with baits by fishermen especially during the monsoon season when they are more widely found.
Local folklore
The Nadanpattu (local song) "Aa Paralu Ee Paralu" introduced by Kalabhavan Mani mentions the Poovali Paral multiple times and it was added due it's striking features.
Article text: Wikipedia contributors, Dawkinsia filamentosa (source revision). Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
