Synonyms:
Coius nandus: Hamilton, 1822.
Nandus marmoratus: Day, 1878, 1889; Valenciennes, 1831.
Nandus nandus: Shaw and Shebberare, 1937; Sterba, 1962; Bhuiyan, 1964; Qureshi, 1965; Ahmad, 1943.
Common name: Mud perch (English name).
Bangla name: Meni, Bheda, Roina.
Taxonomic position:
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Osteichthyes
Order: Perciformes
Family: Nandidae
Genus: Nandus
Species: N. nandus
Morphological description:
A deep laterally compressed body with nearly straight belly and arched back. Head is large and compressed. Snout is pointed. Eyes are comparatively large in smaller specimens. Body colour is greenish brown. Three yellow-green or olive green coloured vertical patchy bands at sides. Fins greenish to yellowish, some narrow dark bands radiate from eye. Dorsal spines strong and soft portion of the dorsal fin is rounded. Anal spines moderately strong, second spine largest, caudal fin slightly rounded, pectoral spine weak, scales ctenoid, lateral line interrupted (Rahman, 2005; Talwar and Jhingran, 2001 and Bhuiyan, 1964).
Fin formula:
D. XI-XIV/11-13, P1.14-15, P2. I/5, A. III/7-9.
D. 12-14/11-13, P1. 15, P2. 1/5, A. 3/7-9 (Bhuiyan, 1964).
D. XII-XIV/11-13, P1. 15, P2. I/5, A. III/7-9 (Shafi and Quddus, 1982).
D. XII /12, P1. 15, P2. I/5, A. III/7-8 (Rahman, 2005).
D. XII-XIV 11-13, P1. 15, P2. I 5, A. III 7-9 (Talwar and Jhingran, 2001).
Scales number above lateral line is 8. Lateral line interrupted at 39-41 scales. Lateral line continued below for 14-16 scales. Scales number in longitudinal series is 48 to 50. Scales number mentioned by writers are lateral line interrupted at 35 or 39 or 41 scales, continued below for 14-16 scales up to base of caudal, 8 row of scales between lateral line and origin of spinous dorsal (Rahman, 2005), 46-57 scales in longitudinal series (Talwar and Jhingran, 2001).
Habit and habitat:
They are common in ditches and in undated paddy fields where it prey on small rganisms. Muddy streams, rivers, pools and marshes are its main habitats (Bhuiyan, 1964). It inhabits in fresh and brackish water (Hossain, et. al. 1992).
Breeding period:
Breeding period of this fish is April to September (Hossain, et. al. 1991).
Economic importance:
This is a very hardy fish and is of considerable fisheries interest. It is a high priced fish inspite of its spinous fins and ugly black bands and blotches all over the body (Talwar and Jhingan, 2001). It is very tenacious and can live in foul water. So, this fish is very suitable for cultivation in muddy water (Bhuiyan, 1964).
Ecological role:
Surface dweller fish and takes small insects, algae and small fish species. But it is very destructive to larvae and small fishes (Bhuiyan, 1964).
Marketing status:
Used as food fish. People like this fish very much. Market price is varied between 140-160 Tk/kg.
References:
Ahmad, N. 1943..“Fauna of Lahore. 5 Fishes of Lahore”. Bull. Dep. Zool Punjab Univ. Lahore. p. 342.
Bhuiyan, A.L. 1964. Fishes of Dacca. Asiatic Soc. Pakistan, Publ. No. 13, Dacca. pp. 107-108.
Day, F. 1878. Fishes of India. William Dowson and sons., London. p. 129.
Day, F. 1889. Fishes. Fauna. Brit. India. William Dowson and sons., London. p. 83.
Hamilton, F. 1822. Fishes of the Ganges. Archibald constable and company, Edinburgh. p. 96.
Hossain, M.A., Parween, S. and Rahman, M.A. 1992. Food and feeding habit of Nandus nandus (Hamilton-Buchanan). The Rajshahi University Studies (Part-B), 20: pp. 279-286.
Hossain, M.A., Rahman, M.H. and Parween, S. 1991. A study on the sex ratio and reproductive cycle of Nandus nandus (Hamilton-Buchnan). J. Asiatic Soc. Bangladesh Sci., 17(2): pp. 141-151.
Qureshi, M.R. 1965. Common Freshwater fishes of Pakistan. Karachi. p. 48.
Rahman, A.K.A. 2005. Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh. The Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka. pp. 319-321.
Shaw, G.E. and Shebbeare, E.O. 1937. Fishes of Northern Bengal. J. Royal Asiat. Soc. Bengal Science. p. 115.
Sterba, G. 1962. Freshwater Fishes of the World. Vista Books, London. P. 661.
Talwar, P.K. and Jhingran, A.G. 2001. Inland Fishes of India and Adjacent countries. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi. 2: pp. 878-879.
Valenciennes, A. and Cuvier, G. 1831. (in French) Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome septieme. Livre septieme. Des squamipennes. Livre huitieme. Des poissons a pharyngiens labyrinthiformes. Hist. Nat. Poiss. i-xxix+1-531.
Shafi, M. and Quddus, M.M.A. 1982. Bangladesher Matshaw Sampad (in Bengali). Dhaka. pp. 272-273.
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