Zebra loach
| Zebra loach | ||||||||||||
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Zebra loach ( Botia striata ) |
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| Botia striata | ||||||||||||
| Rao , 1920 |
The zebra loach ( Botia striata ) is a carp-like tropical freshwater fish in the loach family .
features
Botia striata is a small representative of the clown loaches with a total length of six to eight centimeters, which differ from most other loach-like fish by a high-backed body that is strongly compressed at the sides. Three pairs of short and thin barbels are arranged around the lower mouth . The head and cheeks are scaly, while the smooth-looking body is covered with numerous very small scales.
Fins formula : dorsal II / 9–10, anal I / 6–7, pectoral 13–14, ventral 8.
The coloring of the zebra loach consists of a pattern of very narrow vertical stripes in light and dark brown and green tones. In adult specimens, some of the stripes may appear reddish. On the head, the transverse ligaments point in the direction of the mouth. The fins have a number of longitudinal bands composed of dots. Its suborbital spine lies under the eye, has two tips and can be erected. All loach species can make cracking sounds, with which they do not express any territorial claims but achieve individual distance.
Occurrence and endangerment
Botia striata is native to the clear and fast-flowing mountain streams and rivers, especially the Thunga River , the Western Ghats, and the southern Indian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka .
The zebra loach is a habitat specialist, its known habitat is therefore limited to less than 400 km². It occurs fragmented only in 4 areas. Their habitat is threatened by silting due to deforestation and pollution. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) has therefore classified the zebra loach as Endangered (EN).
Way of life
Little is known about the way of life, food, behavior and reproduction in nature. Botia striata prefers to eat from the ground and prefers sandy or gravelly subsoil. Based on aquarium observations it can be assumed that water snails belong to the natural food spectrum.
Systematics
The zebra loach was scientifically described in 1920 by the Indian zoologist Narayan Rao . The five types caught in Shimoga are deposited in the British Museum of Natural History under catalog numbers 1919.11.19.8-12. The Botia var. Kolhapurensis described by Kalawar & Kelkar in 1958 is an invalid synonym description.
Importance to humans
The zebra loach is an aquarium fish that is regularly traded as a juvenile fish. Reproduction has seldom been successful under aquarium conditions.
literature
- Narayan Rao, CR (1920): Some new species of cyprinoid fish from Mysore . Annals and Magazine of Natural History (Series 9), 6 (31): 45-64.
- Kalawar, AG and CN Kelkar (1956): Fishes of Kolhapur . Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 53 (4): 669-679.
- Talwar, PK and AG Jhingran (1991): Inland fishes of India and adjacent countries . Oxford & IBH Publishing Co., New Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, 1-1158.
- Menon, AGK (1999): Check list - fresh water fishes of India . Records of the Zoological Survey of India. Miscellaneous Publication, Occasional Paper No. 175: 1-366.
- Grant, S. (2007): Part 1. Fishes of the genus Botia Gray , 1831, in the Indian region (Teleostei: Botiidae). Part 2. Mainland fishes of the genus Syncrossus Bluth , 1860 (Teleostei: Botiidae). Part 3. A new subgenus of Acanthocobitis Peters , 1861 (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae). Ichthyofile Number 2: 1-106.
- Gerhard Ott: Loaches in the aquarium . Tetra Verlag., Bissendorf 2000, ISBN 3-89745-128-X .
- Klaus Gernhard, Jürgen Schmidt: Loaches . Bede Verlag., Ruhmannsfelden 1999, ISBN 3-933646-48-0 .
- Kottelat, Maurice (2012): CONSPECTUS COBITIDUM: AN INVENTORY OF THE LOACHES OF THE WORLD (TELEOSTEI: CYPRINIFORMES: COBITOIDEI) . The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, Supplement No. 26: 1-199.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Botia striata in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012.2. Posted by: N. Dahanukar, 2011. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
