Potasi, Pseudeutropius atherinoides (Bloch, 1794)

Systematic position
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Order: Siluriformes (Catfishes)
Family: Schilbeidae (Schilbid catfishes)
Genus: Pseudeutropius
Species: P. atherinoides

Common/local names
English: Indian potasi
Bangladesh: Batasi (বাতাসী) and Patasi (পাতাসী)
India: Bohduah, Potasi, Doya, Patasi, Puttahara, Puttul, Barusa, cheli, Battuli, Chellee, Puttahree, Akkajellu, Bopatassi and Sura (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).

Synonyms
Bagrus angius (Hamilton, 1822)
Bagrus atherinoides (Bloch, 1794)
Bagrus urua (Hamilton, 1822)
Clupisoma atherinoides (Bloch, 1794)
Neotropius atherinoides (Bloch, 1794)
Pachypterus atherinoides (Bloch, 1794)
Pachypterus trifasciatus Swainson, 1839
Pimelodus angius Hamilton, 1822
Pimelodus urua Hamilton, 1822
Pseudeutropius atherinoides walkeri Chaudhuri, 1912
Silurus atherinoides Bloch, 1794

Distribution: Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Myanmar and Nepal (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).

Conservation status: Not threatened in Bangladesh (IUCN Bangladesh, 2000).

Morphology: Body elongated and compressed. Upper jaw slightly longer than lower. Eyes large. Body whitish or almost transparent with light greenish back. 3 or 4 longitudinal bands present on flank. Caudal forked and caudal base contains a black spot. Barbels present and 4 pairs. Dorsal spine as long as head and serrated posteriorly. Lateral line complete but not so conspicuous. Head 20.4% SL and 16.4% TL. Height 26.5% SL and 21.3% TL. Eye 30% HL (Galib, 2008).

Fin formula: D. 1/5-6; P1. 1/7; P2. 6; A. 33-40 (Rahman, 1989).

Maximum lengths: Maximum length reported 12.7 cm (Day, 1878), 7 cm (Bhuiyan, 1964), 8 cm (Rahman, 2005) and 6.5 cm (Galib, 2008).

Habitat: This species found in freshwaters and also tidal rivers. According to Bhuiyan (1964), this fish found in the streams and rivulets especially in the paddy and jute fields and canals in the rainy season. Recorded in Chalan Beel (Galib et al., 2009) and Padma river (Samad et al., 2010).

Marketing status: Serves as food fish in Bangladesh and have excellent market demand. This fish is marketed in both fresh or dried conditions (Galib, 2008; Samad et al., 2009).

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REFERENCES

Bhuiyan AL. 1964. Fishes of Dacca, Asiat. Soc. Pakistan, Pub. 1, No. 13, Dacca.

Bloch ME. 1794. Naturgeschichte der ausländischen Fische. Berlin. Naturgeschichte der Ausländischen Fische. v. 8: i-iv + 1-174, Pls. 361-396. [Also a French edition, Icthyologie, ou Histoire naturelle des Poissons, v. 11, published 1797.]

Chaudhuri BL. 1912. XXXV. Descriptions of some new species of freshwater fishes from north India. Records of the Indian Museum (Calcutta) v. 7 (pt 5): 437-444, Pls. 38-41.

Galib SM, Samad MA, Mohsin ABM, Flowra FA and Alam MT. 2009. Present Status of Fishes in the Chalan Beel- the Largest Beel (Wetland) of Bangladesh, Int. J. Ani. Fish. Sci. 2(3): 214-218.

Galib SM. 2008.  A Study on Fish Diversity and Fishing Gears of Chalan Beel with Reference to Preservation of Catches, Honors dissertation submitted to the Department of Fisheries, University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh, 172 pp.

Hamilton F. 1822. An account of the fishes found in the river Ganges and its branches. Edinburgh & London. An account of the fishes found in the river Ganges and its branches.: i-vii + 1-405, Pls. 1-39.

IUCN Bangladesh. 2000. Red book of threatened fishes of Bangladesh, IUCN- The world conservation union. xii+116 pp.

Rahman AKA. 1989. Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh, 1st edition, Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, p. 182.

Rahman AKA. 2005. Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh, 2^nd edition, Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, pp. xviii -263.

Samad MA, Asaduzzaman M, Galib SM, Kamal MM and Haque MR. 2010. Availability and Consumer Preference of Small Indigenous Species (SIS) of the River Padma at Rajshahi, Bangladesh, International Journal of BioResearch 1(5): 27-31.

Samad MA, Galib SM, Flowra FA. 2009. Fish Drying in Chalan Beel Areas, Bangladesh Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research 44(4): 461-466.

Swainson W. 1839. The natural history and classification of fishes, amphibians, & reptiles, or monocardian animals. Spottiswoode & Co., London. Nat. Hist. & Class. i-vi + 1-448.

Talwar, P.K. and A.G. Jhingran, 1991. Inland Fishes of India and Adjacent Countries, Vol. II, Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi-Calcutta, p. 607.

 

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