Duckbill sleeper, Butis butis (Hamilton, 1822)

Classification
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii  (Ray-finned fishes)
Order: Perciformes (Perches)
Suborder: Gobioidei
Family: Eleotridae (Eleotrididae) (Sleepers)
Subfamily: Butinae
Genus: Butis
Species: B. butis

Common name: Duckbill sleeper (IUCN Bangladesh, 2000)

Synonyms
Cheilodipterus butis (Hamilton, 1822)
Eleotris butis (Hamilton, 1822)

Distribution: Estuaries, tidal rivers and creeks in Bangladesh (IUCN Bangladesh, 2000); Bay of Bengle (Rahman, 1989); Indo-west Pacific Ocean (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).

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

Morphology: The body is elongated, cylindrical and compressed posteriorly. Depressed with large mouth and lower jaw slightly longer than that of upper jaw. Pectoral obtuse and longer than pelvic. Caudal rounded. Both head and snout covered with seals. Lateral present and complete with about 28-30 ctenoid scales (Rahman, 1989).

Body color is brownish-black. Fins are slightly yellowish. A black spot present at the base of pectoral fin. Reddish dotted also founds in fins.

Fin formula
D₁ VI; D₂ I 8; A I 8; P 18-20 (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991)
D₁ VI; D₂ I/9; P₁19; P₂ 6;  A. I/8 (Rahman, 1989)

Maximum length: 8cm (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991)

Habitats: Inhabits in sea and estuaries (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991)

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REFERENCES

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.

Rahman AKA (1989) Freshwater Fishes of Bangaladesh, 1^st edition, Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, pp. 289-290

Talwar PK and Jhingran AG (1991) Inland Fishes of India and adjacent countries, Vol. 2, Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi-Calcutta, pp. 973-974.

 

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