Systematic position
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Order: Cypriniformes (Carps)
Family: Cyprinidae (Minnows or carps)
Subfamily: Rasborinae
Genus: Rasbora
Species: R. rasbora
Synonyms
Cyprinus rasbora Hamilton, 1822
Leuciscus microcephalus Jerdon, 1849
Leuciscus presbyter Valenciennes, 1844
Leuciscus rasbora Hamilton, 1822
Leuciscus xanthogrammae Jerdon, 1849
Leuciscus xanthogramme Jerdon, 1849
Rasbora buchanani Bleeker, 1860
Common/local names
English: Gangetic scissortail rasbora
Bangladesh: Darkina (দারকিনা) and Leuzza darkina (ল্যাইজ্জা দারকিনা)
Distributions: Bangladesh, India (Gangetic provinces and Assam), Myanmar, Pakistan (?) and Thailand (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Conservation status: Endangered in Bangladesh due to use of agro-chemicals in farming (IUCN Bangladesh, 2000).
Morphology: Body elongate and compressed with moderate mouth. Abdominal profile more convex than that of dorsal. Dorsal fin inserted behind origin of pelvics. Caudal deeply emarginated. Lateral line concave and complete with 27-29 (Rahman, 1989 and 2005); 26-29 (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991) scales.
Body color olive-brown on dorsal and silvery below. A blue-black iridescent lateral stripe or band running from head to caudal base. Caudal with black hind margin and other fins are yellowish.
Fin formula:
D 9 (2/7); P1. 15; P2. 9; A. 7 (2/5) (Rahman, 1989 and 2005; IUCN Bangladesh, 2000)
D ii 7; A ii-iii 5; P i 14; V i 8 (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Maximum lengths: 8 cm (Rahman, 1989 and 2005), 13 cm (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991) and 12 cm (IUCN Bangladesh, 2000).
Habitats: Freshwater bodies of Bangladesh (Rahman, 1989 and 2005).
Food and feeding: Surface feeder (IUCN Bangladesh, 2000).
Fishery info: Popular in small aquaria due to its beauty and hardiness (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991). Less common than Rasbora daniconius (Rahman, 1989 and 2005).
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REFERENCES
Bleeker P (1860) De visschen van den Indischen Archipel, Beschreven en Toegelicht. Deel II. Acta Societatis Regiae Scientiarum Indo-Neêrlandicae 7 (N. S., v. 2): 1-492 + i-xiii.
Cuvier G and Valenciennes A (1844) Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome dix-septième. Suite du livre dix-huitième. Cyprinoïdes. Histoire naturelle des poissons. 17: i-xxiii + 1-497 + 2 pp., Pls. 487-519.
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.
Jerdon TC (1849) On the fresh-water fishes of southern India. (Continued from p. 149.). Madras Journal of Literature and Science 15(2):302-346.
Rahman AKA (1989) Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh, 1st edition, Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, pp. 88-89.
Rahman AKA (2005) Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh, 2nd edition, Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, pp. 105-106.
Talwar PK and Jhingran AG (1991) Inland Fishes of India and Adjacent Countries, Vol. 1, Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi-Calcutta, p. 390.
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