Systematic position
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Order: Anguilliformes (Eels)
Suborder: Congroidei
Family: Muraenesocidae (Pike congers)
Genus: Congresox
Species: C. talabonoides
Common/local names
English: Indian pike conger
Bangladesh: Kamila (কামিলা)
Conservation status: Not threatened in Bangladesh (IUCN Bangladesh, 2000).
Distributions: Bangladesh (Rahman, 1989 and 2005); Red sea (?), India and Sri Lanka, eastwards throughout Indonesia, to the Philippines, Hong Kong and Taiwan (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Morphology: Body healthy, eel-shaped and compressed. Mouth very large, its gape extends well beyond eye. Teeth generally large and conspicuous and three rows present on upper jaw and four rows present on lower jaw. Fang like canine teeth present at front of lower jaw and on vomer and median canines present on vomer conical. Vomerine teeth slender. Dorsal fin inserted before gill openings and 57-68 finrays present before anus. Pectoral fins relatively small and about 4 times in head length. Lateral line pores before anus level 35-40 (Rahman, 1989 and 2005); 41-42 (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991). The length of head 3.0 in the distance between snout and vent. Trunk length less than that of the tail. Cleft of mouth 2.0 in length of head (Rahman, 1989; Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Silvery or golden yellow in body color and white on the abdomen and yellowish on the vertical fins with a narrow black outer border (Rahman, 1989 and 2005; Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Maximum lengths: 180 cm (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991) and 250 cm (Huda et al., 2003).
Habitats: The Bay of Bengal and tidal rivers of Bangladesh (Rahman, 1989 and 2005). They live over soft bottom down to about 100 meters (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991). Available in the Sundarbans (Huda et al., 2003).
Food and feeding: Nocturnal fish, feeds on bottom fishes and crustaceans (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
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REFERENCES
Bleeker P (1853) Bijdrage tot de kennis der Muraenoïden en Symbranchoïden van den Indischen Archipel. Verhandelingen van het Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen.25(5):1-62+ 63-75.
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. 165.
IUCN Bangladesh (2000) Red book of threatened fishes of Bangladesh, IUCN- The world conservation union. xii+116 pp.
Rahman AKA (1989) Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh, 1st edition, Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, p. 48.
Rahman AKA (2005) Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh, 2nd edition, Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, p. 63.
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. 89-90.
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