Systematic position
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Order: Perciformes (Perches)
Family: Polynemidae (Threadfins)
Genus: Polynemus
Species: P. paradiseus
Synonyms
Polynemus aureus Hamilton, 1822
Polynemus longifilis Cuvier, 1829
Polynemus risua Hamilton, 1822
Polynemus toposui Hamilton, 1822
Common/local names
English: Paradise threadfin
Bangladesh: Tapasi (তাপসী), Topse (তোপসে), Muni (মুনি), Ramsos (রামসোস) and Rishi (ঋষি)
India: Tapsya (West Bengal) and Dodywa-rawas (Maharashtra) (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Distributions: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Conservation status: Not threatened in Bangladesh (IUCN Bangladesh, 2000).
Morphology: Elongated and slightly compressed body with small eyes. Pectoral fins divided into two parts, upper part with all unbranched rays and lower part with 7 free filamentous rays of which upper 3 longest (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991). Caudal fin forked and upper lobe longer. Lateral line complete (Shafi and Quddus, 2001).
Body color golden with a shade of gray on dorsal with grayish fins.
Fin formula:
D. VII / 1/15-16; P1. 7+16-17; P2. 6 (I/5); A. 14 (2/12) (Rahman, 1989 and 2005)
D1 VII, D2 I 15-16; A II 12; P 15+vii; V I 5 (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991)
D1. 7/1/15-16; P. 15+VII; V. 1/5; A. 2/12; C. 19 (Shafi and Quddus, 2001)
Maximum lengths: 18.5 cm (Rahman, 1989 and 2005) and 23 cm (Huda et al., 2003).
Habitats: Estuaries and Bay of Bengal of Bangladesh, also enters rivers (Rahman, 1989 and 2005). Inhibits shallow sandy inshore areas and entering freshwater during spawning time (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991). Found in coastal waters but known to enter estuaries (IUCN Bangladesh, 2000). Also available in Sundarbans (Huda et al., 2003), Padma and Meghna rivers (Shafi and Quddus, 2001).
Breeding: Ascends the estuary from March to June (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Fishery information: Good fishery in the Hooghly estuary and next in importance to the Hilsa fishery (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991). Abundant in Meghna river near Chandpur from April to July (Rahman, 1989 and 2005).
Fishing is done by Been nets and lines; peak fishing season is from May to June (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991) and Kachal and Veshal nets (Shafi and Quddus, 2001).
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REFERENCES
Cuvier G and Valenciennes A (1829) Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome troisième. Suite du Livre troisième. Des percoïdes à dorsale unique à sept rayons branchiaux et à dents en velours ou en cardes. Histoire naturelle des poissons. v. 3: i-xxviii + 2 pp. + 1-500, Pls. 41-71.
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. 136.
Linnaeus C (1758) Systema Naturae, Ed. X. (Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata.) Holmiae. Systema Naturae, Ed. X. v. 1: i-ii + 1-824.
Rahman AKA (1989) Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh, 1st edition, Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, pp. 268-269.
Rahman AKA (2005) Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh, 2nd edition, Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, p. 293.
Shafi M and Quddus MMA (2001) Bangladesher Matsho Shampad (Fisheries of Bangladesh) (in Bengali), Kabir publication. Dhaka, Bangladesh. pp. 310-311.
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. 911-912.
[[[…SPECIAL THANKS…]]]
to Farzana Yeasmin, student of MS in Fisheries Biology and Genetics, Department of Fisheries, University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh for providing me the photograph, used in this article.
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