Tor remadevii

Tor remadevii, the orange-finned mahseer, also known as the hump-backed mahseer, is a critically endangered species of freshwater fish endemic to the Western Ghats of India.[1] It is restricted to the Kaveri river basin.

Orange-finned mahseer
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Genus: Tor
Species:
T. remadevii
Binomial name
Tor remadevii
Kurup & Radhakrishnan, 2007

It can be distinguished from other mahseer from the prominent hump on its back, and its bright orange caudal fin. It is considered a high-quality game fish, and has been proclaimed by anglers as "the largest and hardest fighting freshwater fish in the world".[2] The reason for the species' endangerment is the introduction of a non-native "blue-finned mahseer" (generally considered to be Tor khudree, though the "blue-finned mahseer"'s classification is under scrutiny as it actually may be a different, undescribed species[2]) to the Kaveri river basin. Also endangering this species is the heavy construction of dams along the Cauvery, as well as the use of dynamite fishing.[3] These have led to a heavy crash in mahseer populations since 2004. Despite this endangered status, general lack of a formal scientific name has hampered efforts to protect species. However, a 2018 study found out that the orange-finned mahseer was in fact conspecific with Tor remadevii, a little-known species identified in 2007 based on a single juvenile individual from the Pambar River.[4] This has allowed the species to finally gain a scientific name, which may help conservation efforts.

Preserved specimen.
Young individual caught during 2016 survey of Moyar River.
Very large individual caught in Cauvery by Martin Clark, 1978

References

  1. "Tor remadevii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  2. Pinder, Adrian C.; Raghavan, R. & Britton, J.R. (2015). "The legendary hump-backed mahseer Tor sp. of India's River Cauvery: an endemic fish swimming towards extinction?". Endangered Species Research. 28 (1): 11–17. doi:10.3354/esr00673.
  3. "Can its scientific name save India's famed hump-backed mahseer?". Research Matters. 22 June 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  4. Pinder, Adrian C.; Manimekalan, Arunachalam; Knight, J. D. Marcus; Krishnankutty, Prasannan; Britton, J. Robert; Philip, Siby; Dahanukar, Neelesh & Raghavan, Rajeev (20 June 2018). "Resolving the taxonomic enigma of the iconic game fish, the hump-backed mahseer from the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, India". PLOS ONE. 13 (6): e0199328. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0199328. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 6010267. PMID 29924871.
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