Systematic position
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Order: Cypriniformes (Carps)
Family: Psilorhynchidae (Mountain carps)
Genus: Psilorhynchus
Species: P. balitora
Synonyms
Cyprinus balitora Hamilton, 1822
Psilorhynchus variegatus McClelland, 1839
Common/local names
English: Balitora minnow
Bangladesh: Balitora (বালিটোরা)
Distributions: Bangladesh, India (North Bengal and Assam, upper reaches of Jamuna river Gomti river at Lucknow), Myanmar and Nepal (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Conservation status: Data deficient in Bangladesh (IUCN Bangladesh, 2000).
Morphology: Body robust and moderately elevated. Head small, conical with narrow and sub-ventral mouth. Dorsal inserted in advance of pelvics. Paired fins horizontally placed and anal fin short. Scales large. 30-34 (Rahman, 1989 and 2005; Talwar and Jhingran, 1991) scales on lateral line.
Body color of young specimens is gorgeous, with a very bright silvery ground with 6-8 dark spots on dorsum. A series of lateral blotches on same diagonal scale-rows as dorsal spots (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991). Caudal with 2 vertical bands which often break up into dusky patches (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Fin formula:
D. 2/8-9; P1. 6-7/9-10; P2. 2/5-6; A. 2/7 (Rahman, 1989 and 2005)
D iii 8; A ii 5; P v-viii 7-9; V ii 7 (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Maximum length: 4.8 cm (Rahman, 1989 and 2005).
Habitats: Hill streams and rapids, especially with rocky bottom (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991). Found in Mohananda river (Tetulia, Panchagar) and Korotoa river (Bhajanpur, Dinajpur) of Bangladesh (Rahman, 1989 and 2005).
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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.
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 19(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. 74-75.
Rahman AKA (2005) Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh, 2nd edition, Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, pp. 90-91.
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. 438-439.
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