Tor malabaricus
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| Tor malabaricus | |
|---|---|
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| Tor malabaricus in Karnataka, India | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Cyprinidae |
| Genus: | Tor |
| Species: | T. malabaricus |
| Binomial name | |
| Tor malabaricus Jerdon, 1849 | |
Tor malabaricus, the Malabar mahseer, is a fish, a species of mahseer native to southwestern India.
This mahseer possesses many typical Cyprinidae features, with a slim, torpedo-shaped body, plus large head and scales, and four barbels at the corners of the mouth. In the original description, Jerdon [2] says: "Head to whole body as 1:4; height 3 1/2 times in its length... 23 scales along its body." as among the identification characteristics.
Tor malabaricus may be confused with juvenile Tor remadevii, but the distributions should be very different, with Tor remadevii only to be found within the basin of the eastwards-flowing Cauvery River.
There have been several recent papers on the genetics of Tor malabaricus and other mahseer species of India.[3][4] These papers may help in future identification, although comparisons between Tor malabaricus and Tor khudree should be viewed carefully as despite Pavan-Kumar et al. reporting that "Individuals of Tor putitora, Tor khudree, Tor tor, Tor mahanadicus and Tor malabaricus were collected from respective type locations [4]", it is known that Tor khudree is no longer to be found at the type locality.[5] Genetic comparisons between T. malabaricus and T. khudree have confirmed that the two are distinct species.[6]
Distribution
Ecology
It may be expected that Tor malabaricus has similarities with all other mahseer species, being omnivorous, with a diet that likely includes aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, fruit and vegetation, small amphibians and other fish. It would seem probable that adult fish access headwaters for spawning during high water conditions, although as it inhabits the faster, shorter rivers draining westwards along the Western Ghats, migrations would likely be shorter than other species.