Systematic position
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Order: Perciformes (Perches)
Family: Sciaenidae (Drums or croakers)
Genus: Macrospinosa
Species: M. cuja
Synonyms
Bola cuja Hamilton, 1822
Johnius cujus (Hamilton, 1822)
Sciaena cuja (Hamilton, 1822)
Common/local names
English: Cuja bola
Bangladesh: Bola (ভোলা) and Kuizza poa (কুইজ্জা পোয়া)
Distributions: Bangladesh (Rahman, 1989 and 2005) and India (Gangetic estuaries) (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Conservation status: Not threatened in Bangladesh (IUCN Bangladesh, 2000).
Morphology: Elongated body with terminal mouth. Dorsa; profile highly convex. Dorsal fin deeply notched. Lateral line continued up to caudal. 51 (Rahman, 1989 and 2005); 47-51 (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991) scales on lateral line. Caudal fin rhombaid. Second anal spine very long and robust.
Head 3.5 in standard, 4.2 in total length; head 2.9 in standard, 3.4 in total; eye 5.5; snout 1.2 and interorbital 1.0 (Rahman, 1989 and 2005). Back greenish and silvery below. Dorsal fin with 3 or 4 longitudinal rows of large dusky spots and other fins are pale (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Fin formula:
D. X: I/27; P1. 18; P2. I/6; A. II/7; C. 18 (Rahman, 1989 and 2005)
D X-XI+I 27-29; A II 6-7; P i 17; V I 5 (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991)
Maximum lengths: 32.5 cm (Rahman, 1989), 150 cm (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991), over 60 cm (Rahman, 2005) and 150 cm (Huda et al., 2003).
Habitats: Estuaries of Barisal, Patuakhali and Khulna (Rahman, 1989 and 2005). Found in Sundarbans (Huda et al., 2003).
Fishery information: Good fishery in the Hooghly estuary during winter season (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
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REFERENCES
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.
Huda MS, Haque ME, Babul AS and Shil NC (ed.) (2003) Field guide to finfishes of Sundarban, Aquatic resources division, Sundarban, Boyra, Khulna, Bangladesh, p. 142.
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. 330.
Rahman AKA (2005) Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh, 2nd edition, Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, pp. 356-357.
Talwar PK and Jhingran AG (1991) Inland Fishes of India and Adjacent Countries, Vol. 2, Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi-Calcutta, pp. 860-861.
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