The fish recently imported as the Emperor botia has been named.
The description by Heok Hee Ng is published in the latest issue of the journal Zootaxa and names the species Botia udomritthiruji (pronounced oo-dom-reet-thee-roo-jee).
The new species is known from the Tenasserim River drainage in southern Myanmar, and can be distinguished from all other members of the genus in having a unique colour pattern consisting of five dark vertical bars on the body, with the central portion of these bars paler than its edges; with increasing age, the edges of these bars become more irregular and darker, and irregular dark spots on the pale interspaces begin to form, sometimes fusing with the edges of the vertical bars.
The colour pattern of Botia udomritthiruji changes with maturity.
Botia udomritthiruji can be further distinguished in having a deeper body than both B. almorhae and B. kubotai, a deeper caudal peduncle than B. dario, and fewer dorsal-fin rays than B. kubotai.
The new species is named after Kamphol Udomritthiruj, who provided the author with material for study.
In the paper, B. macrolineata is treated as a junior synonym of B. dario and B. rostrata is considered a distinct species.
For more information, see the paper: Ng, HH (2007) Botia udomritthiruji, a new species of botiid loach from southern Myanmar (Teleostei: Botiidae). Zootaxa 1608, pp.41-49.