Synonyms:
Gobius giuris: Hamilton, 1822; Day, 1878.
Gobius gutum: Day, 1889.
Glossogobius giuris: Koumans, 1953; Inger and Kong, 1962; Shaw and Shebberare, 1937; Munro, 1955; Ahmed, N. 1943; and Bhuiyan, 1964.
Common name: Tank goby (English).
Bangla name: Bele, Bailla.
Taxonomic position:
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Osteichthyes
Order: Perciformes
Family: Gobiidae
Genus: Glossogobius
Species: G. giuris
Morphological description:
Body is elongated and anteriorly cylindrical, posteriorly compressed. Head is depressed and generally pointed. Lower jaw longer than upper jaw, Mouth is slightly oblique and lips are thick. Second dorsal, anal fin is posteriorly pointed. Caudal fin is pointed or some what rounded. Pelvics united forming a sucking disc. The two dorsal fins are separated by a short inter space. Colour olive green to blackish green above. Dorsal and caudal fins yellowish green, spotted with dark edges. Pectoral is lightly spotted but pelvic and anal whitish (Rahman, 2005; Bhuiyan, 1964; Yadav, 1997 and Talwar and Jhingran, 2001.
Fin formula:
D1. VI, D2. I/8-9, P1. 1/18-20, P2. 1/5, A. I/8-9
D1. 6, D2. 9-10, P2. 6, A. 9-10 (Bhuiyan, 1964).
D1. 6, D2. 9-10, P1. 19-20, P2. 6, A. 9-10 (Shafi and Quddus, 1982).
D1. VI, D2. I/8-9, P1. 18-20, P2. 6(1/5), A. I/8-9 (Rahman, 2005).
D. VI 8-9, P1. i 16-21, A. I 7-8 (Talwar and Jhingran, 2001).
Scales number along lateral series is 32 to 34. Scales number mentioned by Rahman (2005) is 31-34 scales along lateral series.
Habit and habitat:
Found in estuaries and fresh waters throughout Bangladesh (Rahman, 2005). In the rainy season this is available in the rivers, streams and beels. It is some what hardy, but it cannot live in muddy water for long (Bhuiyan, 1964). It feeds on unicelluar and multicelluar algae, higher plants, protozoans, worms and crustaceans (Bhuiyan, 1964).
Breeding time:
Breeding period is May-October (Doha, 1974). According to Hora (1936), it is one of the few species that migrate to the sea for breeding purpose.
Economic importance:
This fish is highly esteemed as food. Bele is one of the varieties found in both fresh and brackish water, largely caught and eaten. Good sport on rod and line with a bait of small prawn (Bhuiyan, 1964).
Ecological role:
Bottom dweller fish and taken small fish, small crustaceans, insects and rotten plants and plays an important role in our ecology (Bhuiyan, 1964).
Marketing status:
Price of large fish is comparatively higher than smaller fish. The price of fresh fish is generally 55-85 Tk/kg.
References:
Ahmad, N. 1943. “Fauna of Lahore. 5 species of Lahore.” Bull. Dep. Zool. Punjab Univ. Lahore. p. 357.
Bhuiyan, A.L. 1964. Fishes of Dacca. Asiatic Soc. Pakistan, Publ. No. 13, Dacca. pp. 113-114.
Day, F. 1878. Fishes of India. William Dowson and sons., London. P. 294.
Day, F. 1889. Fishes. Fauna. Br. India. William Dowson and sons., London. 2: p. 266.
Doha, S. 1974. Investigation into the Biology of the Gobi, Glossogobius giuris (Hamilton-Buchanan). Bangladesh. J. Zool. 2(2): pp. 95-106.
Hamilton, F. 1822. Fishes of the Gganges. Archibald constable and company, Edinburgh. p. 51.
Hora, S.L. (1936). “Ecology and Bioeconomics of the Gobioid fishes of the Gangetic delta”. 12th Int. Zool. Congr. Lisbon. p. 63.
Inger, R.F. and Kong, C.P. 1962. Freshwater Fishes of North Borneo. Fieldana, Zoology. Chicago Nat. Hist. Mus. 5: p. 183.
Koumans, F.P. 1953. Fishes of the Indo-Australian. Archi-pelago. Max Weber and L.F. Beaufort (ed). E. J. Brill, Leiden. 10: p. 165.
Munro, I.S. 1955. Marine and Freshwater Fishes of Ceylon. Dept. External Affairs, Canbarra Publications. p. 239.
Rahman, A.K.A. 2005. Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh. The Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka. pp. 307-308.
Shafi, M. and Quddus, M.M.A. 1982. Bangladesher Matshya Sampad (in Bengali). Bangla academy, Dhaka. pp. 287-289.
Shaw, G.E. and Shebbeare, E.O. 1937. Fishes of Northern Bengal. J. Royal Asiat. Soc. Bengal Science. p. 114.
Talwar, P.K. and Jhingran, A.G. 2001. Inland Fishes of India and Adjacent countries. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi. 2: p. 936.
Yadav, B.N. 1997. Fish and Fisheries. Daya Publishing House, Calcutta. p. 319.
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