Synonyms:
Cyprinus bata: Hamilton-Buchanan, 1822.
Labeo bata: Day, 1878, 1889.
Common name: Bata labeo (English name)
Bangla name: Bata, Bhangon bata
Taxonomic position:
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Osteichthyes
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Sub family: Cyprininae
Genus: Labeo
Species: L. bata
Morphological description:
Dorsal profile is more convex than that of abdomen. Snout bluntly pointed. Body elongated. Snout slightly projecting beyond mouth of ten studded with pores (Talwar and Jhingran, 2001). A pair of small maxillary barbells is hidden inside the labial fold. No cartilaginous support to lips. Dorsal originates midway between snout tip and anterior base of anal. Pelvics originate slightly nearer to snout tip than to caudal base (Rahman, 1989). Bluish or darkish on upper half, silvery below, opercle light orange.
Fin formula:
D. 3/9-10, P1. 1/14-15, P2. 1/8, A. 2/5.
D. 2-4/9-10, P1.1/15-17, P2. 1/8. A. 2-3 (Talwar and Jhingran, 2001)
D. 3/9, P1.16-17, P2. 1/8. A. 2/5 (Rahman, 2005 )
D. 3/8-9, P1.16, P2. 9. A. 3/5 (Bhuiyan, 1964)
Minimum and maximum number of scales on the lateral line is 38 and 40 respectively. Minimum and maximum number of scales in above the lateral line is 6 and 7 respectively. Minimum and maximum number of scales in below lateral line is 5 and 6 respectively. Scales number mentioned by other writer are as follows, 38-39 scales on the lateral (Rahman, 2005), 37-40 scales on the lateral (Talwar and Jhingran, 2001).
Habit and habitat:
Its food comprises crustaceous and insect larvae in early stages (Mookerjee et al., 1946). Ponds, rivers, rivulets are its main habitats (Bhuiyan, 1964).
Breeding Season:
Breeding season recorded in the months of between June and October. But several mature female fish were observed in the month of July. Talwar and Jhingran (2005) stated that this fish breed in rivers during monsoon months.
Economic importance:
This fish is very testy. It provides a respected amount of fish protein (Rahman, 2005).
Ecological role:
It is bottom dwellers and takes rotten plant, algae and plankton.
Marketing status:
Market price is varied between 80-100 Tk/kg.
References:
Bhuiyan, A.L. 1964. Fishes of Dacca. Asiatic Soc. Pakistan, Publ. No. 13, Dacca. p. 29.
Day, F. 1878. Fishes of India. William Dowson and Sons., London. p. 542.
Day, F. 1889. Fishes. Fauna. Brit. India. 1-2: p. 268.
Hamilton-Buchanan, F. 1822. An account of the fishes found in the river Ganges and its branches. Edinburgh and London. p. 280.
Rahman, A.K.A. 2005. Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh. The Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka. p. 119.
Talwar, P.K. and Jhingran, A.G. 2001. Inland Fishes of India and Adjacent countries. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi. p. 199.
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