Three new students joined our lab group this semester: Mr. Gajaba Ellepola, a lecturer from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, who is pursuing his Ph.D. work, Miss Sun Dan,  a Ph.D. student from Ji Lin Province in China and Mr. Mao Ting Ru, a masters student from Nanning, China. 

We review and clear the taxonomy of the members of the genus Labeo of Sri Lanka. We used an integrative taxonomic analysis using morphology, morphometry, DNA and ecology. We see that the three Labeos of Sri Lanka do not form a monophyletic clade. This is indicative of multiple dispersal events from India to Sri Lanka. We describe and rename the species that was previously recognized as Labeo dussumieri of Sri Lanka as a new species. The newly described species is Labeo heladiva - heladiva is an ancient name for Sri Lanka. At lease two of the three Labeo species of the island need immediate conservation intervention. The work was inspired and supported by Rohan Pethiyagoda and led by Hiranya Sudasinghe. Full Text is available on Research Gate.