Systematic position
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Order: Siluriformes (Catfishes)
Superfamily: Bagroidea
Family: Bagridae (Bagrid catfishes)
Genus: Rita
Species: R. rita
Synonyms
Arius cruciger (Owen, 1853)
Arius ritoides Valenciennes, 1840
Pimelodus rita Hamilton, 1822
Rita buchanani Bleeker, 1854
Rita crucigera (Owen, 1853)
Rita ritoides (Valenciennes, 1840)
Common/local names
English: Rita
Bangladesh: Rita (রিটা), Ritha (রিঠা) and Eta (ইটা)
India: Rita and Reta (West Bengal), Ritha (Bihar), Choua, Chona, Hunna and Rita (Uttar Pradesh); Khaga and Khagga (Punjab); Ponduga (Andhra Pradesh); and Karkandaka (Karnataka) (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Distributions: Bangladesh, Afghanistan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan (Indus plain and adjoining hilly areas) (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Conservation status: Critically Endangered in Bangladesh due to loss of habitats (IUCN Bangladesh, 2000).
Morphology: Body elongate with depressed head. Nostril wide apart. Mouth transverse with 3 pairs of berbels. Straight lateral line and with strong dorsal spine. Pectoral spine shorter than dorsal spine. Caudal forked.
Body color green or greenish above and flanks, sometimes brownish/blackish; dull white below.
Fin formula:
D1. 7 (I/6); D2. 0; A. 12-13 (4-5/9); P. I/10; V. 8; C. 19 (Bhuiyan, 1964)
D. 11/6; P1. 1/10; P2. 8; A. 11-13 (Rahman, 1989 and 2005; IUCN Bangladesh, 2000)
D I 6; A ii 10-11; P I 10; V i 6-7 (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991)
D1. 7 (I/6); D2. 0; A. 13-14 (4-5/9); P. I/10; V. 8; C. 19 (Shafi and Quddus, 2001)
Maximum lengths: 20 cm (Bhuiyan, 1964), 60 cm (Rahman, 1989 and 2005; IUCN Bangladesh, 2000), 150 cm (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991) and 45 cm (Shafi and Quddus, 2001).
Habitats: Freshwater and tidal waters (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991). In rivers and estuaries of Bangladesh (Rahman, 1989 and 2005). Prefers muddy waters (Bhuiyan, 1964). Recorded from Meghna river (Rahman, 1989 and 2005) and Chalan Beel (Galib et al., 2009).
Food and feeding: Carnivorous; feeds on insects, mollusks, shrimps and fishes (Bhuiyan, 1964; Rahman, 1989 and 2005). Takes insects and aquatic plants in earlier stage of life (Bhuiyan, 1964).
Fishery info: Food fish and contributes a good fishery in northern India (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
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REFERENCES
Bhuiyan AL (1964) Fishes of Dacca, Asiat. Soc. Pakistan, Pub. 1, No. 13, Dacca, pp. 68-69.
Bleeker P (1854) Nieuwe tientallen diagnostische beschrijvingen van nieuwe of weinig bekende vischsoorten van Sumatra. Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië 5: 495-534
Cuvier G and Valenciennes A (1840) Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome quinzième. Suite du livre dix-septième. Siluroïdes. Histoire naturelle des poissons. 15: i-xxxi + 1-540, Pls. 421-455.
Galib SM, Samad MA, Mohsin ABM, Flowra FA and Alam MT. 2009 Present Status of Fishes in the Chalan Beel- the Largest Beel (Wetland) of Bangladesh, Int. J. Ani. Fish. Sci. 2(3):214-218.
IUCN Bangladesh (2000) Red book of threatened fishes of Bangladesh, IUCN- The world conservation union. xii+116 pp.
Owen R (1853) Descriptive catalogue of the osteological series contained in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Vol. 1. Pisces, Reptilia, Aves, Marsupialia. London. Descriptive catalogue of the osteological series contained in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.: 350 pp.
Rahman AKA (1989) Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh, 1st edition, Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, pp. 190-191.
Rahman AKA (2005) Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh, 2nd edition, Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, pp. 210-211.
Shafi M and Quddus MMA (2001) Bangladesher Matsho Shampad (Fisheries of Bangladesh) (in Bengali), Kabir publication. Dhaka, Bangladesh. pp. 197-198.
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. 578-579.
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