Rajeev Raghavan

Indian conservation biologist

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|

Rajeev Raghavan

Born|

Kerala State, Kochi, India

Occupation(s)| Assistant Professor, Fisheries Scientist
Known for| Freshwater Fish Conservation, Fish Systematics
Board member of| Mahseer Trust, SHOAL Conservation, Freshwater Life, Fisheries Conservation Foundation
Awards| FSBI MEDAL 2023 [1]
Academic background
Alma mater| St. Albert's College,
University of Madras,
Wuhan Institute of Hydrobiology,
University of Kent
Academic work
Discipline| Conservation Biology, Fisheries science
Sub-discipline| Freshwater Fish Conservation, Fish Systematics, Molecular ecology, Inland Fisheries
Institutions| Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies International Union for Conservation of Nature
Website| http://www.fishlab.in

Rajeev Raghavan is a fisheries scientist and aquatic conservation biologist known for his work on the freshwater fishes of the Indian subcontinent.[1] Rajeev is currently an Assistant Professor at the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, Kochi, India, the South Asia Chair of the IUCN’s Freshwater Fish Specialist Group.[2][3], and the IUCN Freshwater Fish Red List Authority Coordinator for Asia and Oceania.

Rajeev has to his credit close to 200 publications (with 3500+ citations and a h-index of 29),[4] and has been listed in the Elsevier/Scopus Top 2% Scientists of the World for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022 [5]

In honour of Rajeev's research contributions to Indian ichthyology, two fish species have been named after him - a snakehead from the northern Western Ghats, Channa rara,[6] and a hill-stream loach Indoreonectes rajeevi.[7]

## Research[edit]

Since 2003, Rajeev has been involved in interdisciplinary research that generates information to support conservation decision making in tropical aquatic ecosystems, particularly in the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot.[8] His work cuts across multiple disciplines from systematics, to molecular ecology and biogeography, freshwater fisheries and conservation policies. His research group[9] is globally recognized for advancing the knowledge-base on understanding the diversity of freshwater fishes on the Indian subcontinent, resulting in the discovery and description of 21 new species (including three new genera and two new families).[10][11][12] Working with collaborators, he has also contributed to solving long-standing taxonomic and nomenclatural issues in Indian fish taxonomy.[13][14]

Dr. Rajeev is particularly known for his pioneering work that has helped improved our understanding of the diversity, distribution, and conservation of subterranean and groundwater fish species of southern peninsular India.[15] He has been involved in some of the most talked-after fish discoveries including the first subterranean snakehead Aenigmachanna gollum – a living fossil representing a unique family (Aenigmachannidae),[16][17][18], the world's largest cavefish, Neolissochilus pnar[19] and two unique species of subterranean eel-loaches, Pangio bhujia and Pangio pathala.[20][21]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "An interview with Rajeev Raghavan – SHOAL Conservation". Retrieved 23 Oct 2022.
2. ^ "IUCN Freshwater Fish Specialist Group". Retrieved 18 Aug 2017.
3. ^ "Professors to study freshwater conservation - Eastern Mirror". Retrieved 26 Aug 2017.
4. ^ "Rajeev Raghavan". Retrieved 23 Oct 2022.
5. ^ "Kufos faculty member named among world's top scientists". Retrieved 15 Oct 2023.
6. ^ "Channa rara, a new species of snakehead fish from the Western Ghats region of Maharashtra, India (Teleostei: Labyrinthici: Channidae)". Retrieved 23 Oct 2022.
7. ^ "Two new species of the hillstream loach genus Indoreonectes from the northern Western Ghats of India (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae)". Retrieved 23 Oct 2022.
8. ^ "An interview with Rajeev Raghavan – SHOAL Conservation". Retrieved 23 Oct 2022.
9. ^ "Rajeev Research Group at KUFOS". Retrieved 23 Oct 2022.
10. ^ "World's largest cave fish discovered in India". National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on February 28, 2021. Retrieved 23 Oct 2022.
11. ^ "New freshwater fish species discovered from Western Ghats". Retrieved 23 Oct 2022.
12. ^ "Three new species of fishes found in Western Ghats". The Hindu. Retrieved 23 Oct 2022.
13. ^ "After 150 years, a fish gets a scientific name". The Hindu. Retrieved 23 Oct 2022.
14. ^ Benziger, Allen (2011). "Unraveling a 146 Years Old Taxonomic Puzzle: Validation of Malabar Snakehead, Species-Status and Its Relevance for Channid Systematics and Evolution". PLOS ONE. 6 (6): e21272. Bibcode:2011PLoSO...621272B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021272. PMC 3123301. PMID 21731689.
15. ^ "India's ancient underground fish species under threat due to poor water governance". Retrieved 23 Oct 2022.
16. ^ "Gollum surfaces in India: Scientists document the first underground snakehead fish". Retrieved 23 Oct 2022.
17. ^ "Snakehead fish species found in Kerala a living fossil, belongs to unique family, study says". Retrieved 23 Oct 2022.
18. ^ "Dragon snakeheads—strange new underground fish—discovered in India". National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on February 21, 2021. Retrieved 23 Oct 2022.
19. ^ "Meghalaya: World's largest cavefish named after Pnar community". Retrieved 26 Feb 2023.
20. ^ "Named after 'bhujia', a new species of underground fish pops up in Kerala". Retrieved 23 Oct 2022.
21. ^ "To Find the Fish, Find the People: How Scientists Came Upon the Pathala Eel Loach". Retrieved 23 Oct 2022.