From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mahseer is the common name used for the genera Tor, Neolissochilus, and Naziritor in the family Cyprinidae (carps). Sen and Jayaram (1982) reviewed the literature on Mahseer in India and restricted the term 'Mahseer' to members of the genus Tor. They range from Malaysia, Indonesia, across southern Asia to Pakistan, including the Indian Peninsula (Menon, 1992; Roberts, 1999; Mohindra et al., 2007). 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 (Ogale, 2002). Several of the larger species have suffered severe declines, and are now considered threatened due to pollution, habitat loss and overfishing.
The taxonomy of the mahseers is confusing due to the morphological variations they exhibit. In developing strategies for aquaculture and propagation assisted rehabilitation of mahseer species, there is a need to resolve taxonomic ambiguities (Mohindra et al., 2007).
Mahseers inhabit both rivers and lakes, ascending to rapid streams with rocky bottoms for breeding. Like other types of carps, they are omnivorous, eating not only algae, crustaceans, insects, frogs, and other fish, but also fruits that fall from trees overhead.
The first species from this group were scientifically described by Francis Buchanan-Hamilton in 1822, and first mentioned as an angling challenge by the Oriental Sporting Magazine in 1833, soon becoming a favorite quarry of British anglers living in India. The golden mahseer has been known to reach 2.75 m (9 ft) in length and 54 kg (118 lb) in weight, although specimens of this size are rarely seen nowadays. In addition to being caught for sport, mahseer are also part of commercial fishing and ornamental or aquarium fish.
Etymology
The Hindi name of mahāsir, mahāser, or mahāsaulā is used for a number of fishes of the group. British anglers in India called them the Indian salmon. Several sources of the common name mahseer have been suggested: It has been said to be derived from Sanskrit, while other say it is derived from Indo-Persian, Mahi means Fish Sher means Tiger tiger fish or Tiger of waters in Persian. Alternatively, mahā-śalka, meaning large-scaled, as the scales are so large that Buchanan mentions that playing cards were made from them at Dacca. Mr. H. S. Thomas suggests mahā-āsya; great mouth.[1]
Species
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Sen and Jayaram (1982) reviewed the literature on Mahseer in India and restricted the term 'Mahseer' to members of the genus Tor. However, the few species of Genus Neolissochilus and two species of Genus Naziritor are also called as Mahseer due to their big size scales and some similarities.
* Genus Tor:
Tor ater, Roberts, 1999
Tor barakae, Arunkumar & Basudha, 2003 , Barakae mahseer
Tor douronensis, Valenciennes, 1842, khela mahseer or river carp
Tor hemispinus, Chen & Chu, 1985
Tor kulkarnii, Menon, 1992, Dwarf mahseer uncertain only one specimen found till now.
Tor khudree, Sykes, 1839, Deccan mahseer
Tor laterivittatus, Zhou & Cui, 1996
Tor macrolepis, Heckel, 1838, uncertain species
Tor polylepis, Zhou & Cui, 1996
Tor progeneius, McClelland, 1839, Jungha mahseer
Tor qiaojiensis, Wu, 1977
Tor malabaricus, Jerdon, 1849, Malabar mahseer
Tor mosal, Hamilton, 1822, Mosal Mahseer
Tor mussullah, Sykes, 1839, High-backed mahseer, Hump-backed mahseer or Southern mahseer
Tor putitora, Hamilton, 1822, Himalayan mahseer or Golden mahseer
Tor sinensis, Wu, 1977, Chinese mahseer
Tor soro, Valenciennes, 1842
Tor tambra, Valenciennes, 1842
Tor tambroides, Bleeker, 1854, Thai mahseer
Tor tor, Hamilton, 1822, Red-finned mahseer, Short-gilled mahseer or Deep-bodied mahseer
Tor yingjiangensis, Chen & Yang, 2004
Tor yunnanensis, Wang, Zhuang & Gao, 1982
Tor remadevi, NATP report, 2004 uncertain – only one specimen found
Tor moyarensis, NATP report, 2004 uncertain – only one specimen found
* Sub species under Genus Tor:
Tor mosal mahanadicus, Mohindra.V and Praveen 2007 RAPD study shows its close to Tor putitora than to Tor mosal
* Genus Neolissochilus (is separated from Genus Acrossocheilus):
Neolissochilus hexagonolepsis, (McClelland, 1839, Chocolate mahseer
Neolissochilus hexastichus, McClelland, 1839, Brown mahseer
* Genus Naziritor
Naziritor zhobensis, Mirza, 1967, Balochi mahseer
Naziritor cheilynoides, McClelland, 1839, Dark Mahseer
Categories: Fish of Asia | Cyprinidae
