Systematic position
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Order: Cypriniformes (Carps)
Family: Cyprinidae (Minnows and carps)
Genus: Labeo
Species: L. gonius
Synonyms
Cyprinus gonius Hamilton, 1822
Labeo microlepidotus Valenciennes, 1842
Osteochilus chalybeatus (Valenciennes, 1842)
Rohita chalybeata Valenciennes, 1842
Rohita gonius (Hamilton, 1822)
Rohita microlepidota (Valenciennes, 1842)
Common/local names
English: Kuria labeo
Bangladesh: Gonia (গোনিয়া), Ghainna (ঘাইন্না), Goni (গোনি) and Kurchi (কুরচি)
India: Gonya, Courie, Bahtoor, Kurhi, Kuria, Kurcha, Sirheen and Siriha (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Distribution: Bangladesh, northern India, Pakistan and Myanmar (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Conservation status: Endangered in Bangladesh (IUCN Bangladesh, 2000).
Morphology: Body elongate and its dorsal profile more convex than that of ventral. Mouth blunt, narrow and subinferior, lips thick and fringed. Eyes moderate and not visible from underside of head. Two very short pairs of barbells (maxillary and rostral). Dorsal fin inserted; pectoral as long as head; caudal deeply forked. 71-84 (Bhuiyan, 1964; Talwar and Jhngran, 1991); 73-80 (Rahman, 1989 and 2005) scales on lateral line.
Greenish black on back, becoming lighter on sides. Scales with dark margin appear to show dark longitudinal lines. Head 3.8-4.0 in standard, 5.0-5.3 in total length. Height 3.5-3.7 in standard, 4.5-4.8 in total length. Eye 5.0-5.5 in head, snout 1.5-2.0, interorbital 2.7 (Rahman, 1989 and 2005).
Fin formula:
D. 15-19 (2-3/13-16); P. 17-18; V. 9; A. 8 (3/5); C. 19 (Bhuiyan, 1964)
D ii-iii 13-16; A ii 5-6; P i 16; V i 8 (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991)
D. 16-17 (3/13-14); P1. 15-16; P2. 9(1/8); A. 7(2/5) (Rahman, 1989 and 2005)
D. 15-19; A. 8(3/5); P. 17-18; V. 9; C. 19 (Shafi and Quddus, 2001)
Maximum length and weight: 25 cm (Bhuiyan, 1964), 61 cm and 1.36 kg (Rahman, 1989 and 2005), 150 cm (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991) and 60 cm (Shafi and Quddus, 2001).
Food and feeding: Feeds on algae, vegetation, crustaceans and insect larvae (Bhuiyan, 1964; Shafi and Quddus, 2001).
Breeding: Spawns during southwest monsoon months and does not breed in ponds; artificial breeding successful through hypophysation (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991). Generally spawns in clear water after raining at 700-680 F and the egg hatches within 24 hours (Bhuiyan, 1964). Eggs are floating and non-adhesive (Shafi and Quddus, 2001).
Habitats: Found in clear water of the rivers and their tributaries; also in deep pools, clear sluggish and rivulets (Bhuiyan, 1954). Throughout Bangladesh but not so common anywhere (Rahman, 1989). Recorded from Nastaganga fishery (Sylhet, Bangladesh) (Rahman, 1989 and 2005). Found in the water bodies of north India, Assam and Orissa and east coast up to Krishna river (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Harvesting: By cast net, seine net, harpoon and juti (Shafi and Quddus, 2001).
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REFERENCES
Bhuiyan AL. 1964. Fishes of Dacca, Asiat. Soc. Pakistan, Pub. 1, No. 13, Dacca, pp. 24-26.
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.
Shafi M and Quddus MMA. 2001. Bangladesher Matsho Shampad (Fisheries of Bangladesh) (in Bengali), Kabir publication. Dhaka, Bangladesh. pp. 67-68.
Rahman AKA. 1989. Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh, 1st edition, Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, pp. 113-114.
Rahman AKA. 2005. Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh, 2nd edition, Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, pp. 130-131.
Talwar PK and Jhingran AG. 1991. Inland Fishes of India and Adjacent Countries, Vol. 1, Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi-Calcutta, pp. 210-211.
Cuvier G. and Valenciennes A. 1842. Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome seizième. Livre dix-huitième. Les Cyprinoïdes. Histoire naturelle des poissons. v. 16: i-xx + 1-472, Pls. 456-487.
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