| Tor tambra | |
|---|---|
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| A blue-finned mahseer being held by a man | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Cyprinidae |
| Genus: | Tor |
| Species: | T. tambra |
| Binomial name | |
| Tor tambra (Valenciennes, 1842) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Tor tambra, the Javan mahseer or ikan kelah in Malay, is a species of mahseer native to Southeast Asia.
Tor tambra is a typical mahseer, with Cyprinidae features, large scales and a large head comparative to body depth. It is usually longer and slimmer bodied than some other species and head length to body depth measurements are among the critical taxonomic features used for identification. A reddish body colour gives rise to the name kelah merah (red mahseer) in some parts of mainland Malaysia. [2] There have been suggestions that the size and length of the median lobe may be a key to species identity, but this has been proven to be a mistake. [3] Most species of mahseer demonstrate both thick-lipped, large median lobe and thin-lipped, small median lobe morphotypes. T. tambra, T. tambroides and T. douronensis may be synonymous. [4]
These fish have been found throughout Southeast Asia, ranging from Thailand in the Chao Phraya and Mekong River basins to the Greater Sunda Islands. The type locality of Tor tambra is the Indonesian island of Java.
Common to all mahseer species, Tor tambra is omnivorous, sometimes eating toxic fruits when the streams it inhabits flood the forest; this may make them temporarily inedible. The fruits of the invasive cash crop, oil palm Palm oil, known in Malaysia as sawit, are often devoured eagerly by mahseer in streams that flow near to plantations. There are suggestions that during the rainy season, juveniles migrate downstream and that after 2 months, mature adults travel back upstream to spawn at the headwaters in the dry season. It would seem more likely that adult fish access headwaters during high water conditions.
This species is another mahseer currently assigned as Data Deficient by the IUCN. The vast majority of scientific work done on this species has been conducted on stock produced by artificial breeding, with assumptions made about the ecology of wild stocks. Dam building, loss of habitat and over-fishing using destructive methods are the main threats to wild populations. [1] There are also concerns about the genetic integrity and breeding success of wild stocks that have been mixed with releases of artificially-bred stocks. The empurau, as the species is known in Malaysia, is reportedly the most expensive edible fish in the country, [5] and has been known to fetch up to RM1800 per kilogram of the fish. While wild Tor Tambra fetch up to RM 900 per kilo. [6]
Across the region, there are many breeding centres for Tor tambra. There are several specialist aquaculture bodies who offer support and guidelines for when breeding fish like Tor tambra. [7] Among the guidelines that should be adhered to when breeding mahseer, the following are some of the most important:
Mahseer is the common name used for the genera Tor, Neolissochilus, Naziritor and Parator in the family Cyprinidae (carps). The name is, however, more often restricted to members of the genus Tor. The range of these fish is from Vietnam in the north and China in the south, through Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and across southern Asia including the Indian Peninsula, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Afghanistan. They are commercially important game fish, as well as highly esteemed food fish. Mahseer fetch high market price, and are potential candidate species for aquaculture. Several of the larger species have suffered severe declines, and are now considered threatened due to pollution, habitat loss, overfishing and increasing concern about the impacts of unregulated release of artificially bred stock of a very limited number of species.
The walking catfish is a species of freshwater airbreathing catfish native to Southeast Asia. It is named for its ability to "walk" and wiggle across dry land, to find food or suitable environments. While it does not truly walk as most bipeds or quadrupeds do, it has the ability to use its pectoral fins to keep it upright as it makes a wiggling motion with snakelike movements to traverse land. This fish normally lives in slow-moving and often stagnant waters in ponds, swamps, streams, and rivers, as well as in flooded rice paddies, or temporary pools that may dry up. When this happens, its "walking" skill allows the fish to move to other aquatic environments. Considerable taxonomic confusion surrounds this species and it has frequently been confused with other close relatives. One main distinction between the walking catfish and the native North American ictalurid catfish with which it sometimes is confused, is that the walking catfish lacks an adipose fin.
The Mekong giant catfish, is a large, threatened species of catfish in the shark catfish family (Pangasiidae), native to the Mekong basin in Southeast Asia and adjacent China. It is considered critically endangered due to accelerating habitat loss.
The New Zealand longfin eel is a species of freshwater eel that is endemic to New Zealand. It is the largest freshwater eel in New Zealand and the only endemic species – the other eels found in New Zealand are the native shortfin eel, also found in Australia, and the naturally introduced Australian longfin eel. Longfin eels are long-lived, migrating to the Pacific Ocean near Tonga to breed at the end of their lives. They are good climbers as juveniles and so are found in streams and lakes a long way inland. An important traditional food source for Māori, longfin eels are threatened and declining but still commercially fished.
The giant barb, Siamese giant carp, or simply Siamese carp, is the largest species of cyprinid in the world. These migratory fish are found only in the Mae Klong, Mekong, and Chao Phraya River basins in Indochina. Populations have declined drastically due to habitat loss and overfishing, and the giant barb is now considered critically endangered.
Tor khudree, the Deccan mahseer, Khudree mahseer, or black mahseer, is a freshwater fish of the carp family found in major rivers and reservoirs of India and Sri Lanka. Found throughout India, following large-scale introductions of artificially-bred fish across the country, but found of the largest size and in the greatest abundance in mountain or rocky streams.
The fish as originally described by Sykes in his November 1838 paper 'On the Fishes of the Dukhun' as Barbus khudree, is a silvery-bluish coloured fish, with blood red fins or fins tipped with a bluish tinge. The type locality is the Mula-Mutha River close to the Indian city of Pune, a part of the Krishna River basin.
Although there have been efforts to artificially breed this mahseer since the early1970's, there is no way to determine if these fish are Tor khudree, as the populations within the type locality have gone extinct.
The Jullien's golden carp is a species of endangered freshwater ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae found in Southeast Asian river basins. Its existence is being threatened by various economic activities, such as large-scale agriculture and the building of dams for hydropower.
Tor putitora, the Putitor mahseer, Himalayan mahseer, or golden mahseer, is an endangered species of cyprinid fish that is found in rapid streams, riverine pools, and lakes in the Himalayan region. Its native range is within the basins of the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers. It is a popular gamefish, once believed to be the largest species of mahseer, and can reach up to 2.75 m (9.0 ft) in length and 54 kg (119 lb) in weight, though most caught today are far smaller. It is threatened by habitat loss, habitat degradation and overfishing, and it already has declined by more than an estimated 50%. This omnivorous species is generally found near the surface in water that ranges from 13 to 30 °C (55–86 °F).
Friend of the Sea is a project of the World Sustainability Organization for the certification and promotion of seafood from sustainable fisheries and sustainable aquaculture. It is the only certification scheme which, with the same logo, certifies both wild and farmed seafood.
Tor douronensis, also known as Labeobarbus douronensis, is a species of ray-finned fish of the family Cyprinidae in the genus Tor. This Asian fresh water river carp can be discovered in southern Thailand, east to Vietnam and south to Indonesia. The species is known from the Chao Phraya and Mekong rivers.
This fish has been attributed to Valenciennes however, in his original notes, he claims that the fish he described "formed part of the collection made in Java by Kuhl and Van Hesselt; they named it Dourr." Certainly, the type locality is Java, in Indonesia and the holotype is lodged at Bogor Zoology Museum.
Tor tambroides, known as empurau in Malay, is a species of mahseer native to Southeast Asia.
Tor tor, commonly known as the tor mahseer or tor barb, is a species of cyprinid fish found in fast-flowing rivers and streams with rocky bottoms in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Pakistan. It is a commercially important food and game fish.
Tor sinensis, the Chinese or Red mahseer is a species of mahseer native to the Mekong River. It is known with certainty only from Yunnan, China; reports from Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand require confirmation.
It is one of four currently valid species described from China, the others being Tor laterivittatus, Tor polylepis, and Tor yingjiangensis.
Prof. (Dr.) B. Madhusoodana Kurup, an internationally renowned fisheries researcher, academician, visionary and administrator, is the Founder Vice-Chancellor of Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS), Cochin and also served as the third Vice Chancellor of Shri Venkateshwara University, Gajraula, Uttar Pradesh. He has established and successfully developed the first Fisheries and Ocean Sciences University in the country. He did his postdoc from Fish Culture and Fisheries division, Wagenengen University, The Netherlands. He served as UGC Professor (Fisheries) at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) for over eighteen years.
Rajeev Raghavan is an aquatic conservation biologist known for his work on the freshwater fishes of South Asia, particularly the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot. He is currently an Assistant Professor at the Department of Fisheries Resource Management, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, Kochi, India and the South Asia Coordinator of the IUCN’s Freshwater Fish Specialist Group.
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. It is restricted to the Kaveri river basin.
Tor ater, the dark mahseer, is a species of mahseer, a fish, native to Central Laos.
Tor barakae is a species of mahseer native to Manipur, India.
Tor malabaricus, the Malabar mahseer, is a fish, a species of mahseer native to southwestern India.
Tor dongnaiensis, common name Dongnai manseer, is a species of cyprinid of the genus Tor. It inhabits Vietnam's Đồng Nai and is considered harmless to humans. It has a maximum length among unsexed males of 41.1 centimetres (16.2 in). Described in 2015, it has been assessed as "near threatened" on the IUCN Red List.
