Gangetic erethistes, Erethistes pusillus Müller & Troschel, 1849

Systematic position
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Order: Siluriformes (Catfishes)
Superfamily: Sisoroidea
Family: Erethistidae (Erethistid catfishes)
Genus: Erethistes
Species: E. pusillus

Synonyms
Erethistes hara (Misspelled name, must not be used)
Erethistes pussilus Müller & Troschel, 1849

Common/local names
English: Gangetic erethistes
Bangladesh: Katakunti (কাটাকুন্তি)
India: Tinkantia (Bihar) (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).

Distributions: Bangladesh, India (Ganga and Brahmaputra drainages) and Myanmar (Tenasserim) (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).

Conservation status: Not threatened in Bangladesh (IUCN Bangladesh, 2000).

Morphology: Body moderately elongate and flattened ventrally. Head pointed anteriorly with small mouth and four pairs of barbels. Dorsal spine distinctly serrated. Pectoral spine with 9-12 divergent serrae on anterior edge (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).

Body color yellowish-brown above and lighter below. Barbels annulated with black and fins with dusky bands. Skin rough with round bony tubercles (Rahman, 1989 and 2005).

Fin formula:
D. I/5; P1. I/5; P2. 6; A. 8; C. 14-16 (Rahman, 1989 and 2005)
D I 6; A iii 8; P I 5-6; V i 5 (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991)

Maximum length: 5 cm (Rahman, 1989 and 2005; Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).

Habitats: Inhibits hill streams (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991) with muddy bottom (Rahman, 1989 and 2005). Found in streams of old Sylhet and Mymensingh districts of Bangladesh (Rahman, 1989 and 2005).

Fishery info: Of no interest to fisheries (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).

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REFERENCES

IUCN Bangladesh (2000) Red book of threatened fishes of Bangladesh, IUCN- The world conservation union. xii+116 pp.

Müller J and Troschel FH (1849) Horae Ichthyologicae. Beschreibung und Abbildung neuer Fische. Berlin. Horae Ichthyologicae. Beschreibung und Abbildung neuer Fische. Die Familie der Characinen. No. 3: 1-27 + additional p. 24, Pls. 1-5.

Rahman AKA (1989) Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh, 1st edition, Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, pp. 224-225.

Rahman AKA (2005) Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh, 2^nd edition, Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, pp. 247-248.

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. 628-629.

 

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