Systematic position
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Order: Cypriniformes (Carps)
Family: Cyprinidae (Minnows and carps)
Genus: Amblypharyngodon
Species: A. microlepis
Synonyms
Leuciscus microlepis Bleeker, 1854
Leuciscus pellucidus McClelland, 1839
Common/local names
English: Indian carplet
Bangladesh: Mola (মলা)
India: Mola, Dhawai, Makhni and Oori.
Distribution: Bangladesh (Rahman, 1989) and India (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Conservation status: Not threatened in Bangladesh (IUCN Bangladesh, 2000).
Morphology: Body elongate and compressed, abdomen rounded. Snout with thin skin, upper lip absent and eyes are large. Scales are small and lateral line incomplete.
In live fish, bronze on upper side, flanks brassy to golden with a broad dull greenish-silver longitudinal band from operculum to base of caudal fin. Belly whitish and fins hyaline to yellowish.
55-60 scales on lateral line; Head 4.7-5.0, height 4.-8.0 in total length, eye 3.7-4.0 in head, snout 0.8 (Rahman, 1989 and 2005).
Fin formula
D ii 7; A ii 5; P I 13; V i 8 (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991)
D. 9 (2/7); P1. 15; P2. 9; A. 7 (2/5) (Rahman, 1989)
Maximum length: 10 cm (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Habitat and niche: Freshwaters; in rivers, canals, pond and ditches throughout Bangladesh (Rahman 1989 and 2005).
Economic importance: Used as food fish in Bangladesh. Talwar and Jhingran (1991) stated that this fish is of no interest to fisheries and an active but peaceful species in the aquarium.
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REFERENCES
Bleeker P. 1854. Nalezingen op de ichthyologische fauna van Bengalen en Hindostan. Verhandelingen van het Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen. v. 25: 1-164, Pls. 1-6. [+ 6 pls. in v. 26, Aanhangsel. Maart 1854, p. 165-166. Text as a separate in 1854 but dated 1853. See Kullander & Britz 2002:305 for date of publication as 1854, pls. in 1857.]
IUCN Bangladesh. 2000. Red book of threatened fishes of Bangladesh, IUCN- The world conservation union. xii+116 pp.
McClelland J. 1839. Indian Cyprinidae. Asiatic Researches v. 19 (pt 2): 217-471, Pls. 37-61.
Rahman AKA. 1989. Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh, 1st edition, Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, pp. 106-107.
Rahman AKA. 2005. Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh, 2nd edition, Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, pp. 123-124.
Talwar PK and Jhingran AG. 1991. Inland Fishes of India and Adjacent Countries, Vol. I, Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi-Calcutta, pp. 337-338.
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