The Odessa barb has been formally named Puntius padamya by Sven Kullander and Ralf Britz after the first wild-caught specimens were obtained from Myanmar.
Publishing the description in the latest issue of the Electronic Journal of Ichthyology, the authors distinguish the new species from other members of the P. conchonius group (to which it belongs) by the males possessing a broad red band from the head to the base of the caudal fin, abdominal scales with dark margins, and hyaline dorsal, anal and pectoral fins with conspicuous black spots and black distal margins.
Both sexes possess a vertically elongate dark humeral blotch and a small, inconspicuous dark blotch on the side of the caudal peduncle.
The new species is additionally distinguished by the presence of very small maxillary barbells, an incomplete lateral line on 5"8 scales and 12 circumpeduncular scales.
The species is named after the Burmese word for ruby, in reference to the name used for it in the ornamental fish trade (ruby barb), and to the bright red colour of the males.
Puntius padamya is known from the Irrawaddy River drainage in Myanmar.
Puntius padamya was said to have first appeared in pet fish enthusiasts circles in Odessa, Ukraine, from where it got the name , although the authors surmise that as many as three species may have been confused as the Odessa barb (long-finned variety of P. conchonius, P. padamya and P. semifasciolatus).
For more information, see the paper: Kullander, SO and R Britz (2008) Puntius padamya, a new species of cyprinid fish from Myanmar (Teleostei: Cyprinidae). Electronic Journal of Ichthyology 4, pp. 56"66.