Cirrhinus cirrhosus
| Cirrhinus cirrhosus | ||||||||||||
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Cirrhinus cirrhosus |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Cirrhinus cirrhosus | ||||||||||||
| ( Bloch , 1795) |
Cirrhinus cirrhosus (Hindi नारैन) is an economically important carp fish that is native to the Indian subcontinent.
description
Cirrhinus cirrhosus has an elongated body, relatively large scales, a blue-greenish color with a very light basic tone on the back, which becomes slightly yellowish towards the flanks. The fins have an orange to reddish border. The fish species is characterized by the following fin formula : dorsal 12–15, anal 0. Depending on the food available, it can be up to one meter long and 13 kilograms in weight, the average length is 30 centimeters. Catches of 9.2 kg from the Palm Tree Lagoon in Thailand and 15.4 kg from India are guaranteed, in the Godavari River in India this fish species is said to have a maximum weight of 25 kg.
Occurrence and habitat
Cirrhinus cirrhosus is native to the Ganges and Brahmaputra and is distributed in many other Indian streams and rivers. In the meantime, it has been introduced to numerous Asian countries such as Bangladesh , Bhutan , Cambodia , China , Laos , Malaysia , Mauritius , Myanmar , Nepal , Pakistan , Philippines , Sri Lanka , Thailand and Vietnam , so that its gene center can no longer be clearly identified. Cirrhinus cirrhosus mostly inhabits fast flowing rivers and can tolerate high salinity.
Way of life
Young fish up to about five centimeters in length are still omnivorous , while adults feed almost exclusively on herbivores . Cirrhinus cirrhosus mainly eats plankton and grazes algae lawns on stones. The fish spawn on a sand or clay substrate in shallow water areas with depths of 50 to 100 centimeters. A female weighing six kilograms can lay up to a million fish eggs with a diameter of one millimeter.
Benefit and endangerment status
In India, Cirrhinus cirrhosus is kept in extensive pond farms, in 2008 463,520 tons of fish were produced. Although it is kept in artificial ponds in many places, it does not reproduce naturally. The reproduction must be induced artificially. The demand for seedlings is particularly high between July and November. After about three years the fish reach the size of 40 centimeters with a weight of about one kilogram. He also plays a certain role as a sport fish for anglers. Since the wild population of Cirrhinus cirrhosus is exposed to anthropogenic disturbances in its natural habitat by the Cauvery River and Ganges, it is classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List. It is reported that wild catches have decreased by about 80%.
Web links
- Photos from Mrigal on www.arkive.org
- Fisheries & Aquaculture - Cultured Aquatic Species Information Program: Cirrhinus mrigala (Hamilton, 1822)