A note on the ichthyofauna of Solapur District, with first report of a cyprinid fish Rasbora caverii (Jerdon) from Maharashtra State, India

S.S.Jadhav & B.E.Yadav

Zoological Survey of India, Western Regional Station, Pune, Maharashtra 411044, India

Email: shrikantj123@yahoo.com

Date of online publication 26 April 2009

ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print)

Editor: M. Arunachalam

Manuscript details:

Ms # o1660

Received 14 October 2006

Final received 18 December 2008

Finally accepted 09 January 2009

Citation: Jadhav, S.S. & B.E. Yadav(2009). A note on the ichthyofaunaof Solapur District, with first report of a cyprinid fish Rasbora caverii(Jerdon) from Maharashtra State, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 1(4): 243-244.

Copyright: © S.S. Jadhav & B.E.Yadav 2009. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.

Acknowledgements: The authors are grateful to Director, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata and Dr. Anil S. Mahabal, Scientist E, Officer-in-Charge, Zoological Survey of India Punefor facilities and collecting the valuable specimens. We are also thankful to Dr. M.S. Pradhan, Scientist E and Dr. D.B. Bastawade, Assistant Zoologist, for going through the manuscript.

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Solapur District (74042’-76010’E & 17010’-18032’N) occupies an area of 15021km2 and lies entirely in the Bhima–Sina-Man river basins, just before the Bhima River leaves Maharashtra State to enter into Karnataka State.

A faunistic survey of fish in SolapurDistrict was conducted in 1978 by a team of scientists from the Western Regional Station, Zoological Survey of India, Pune. In the State Gazetteer of Maharashtra (Kunte 1977) 27 species were reported from Solapur District. Recent studies by Sakhare (2001) and Singh & Yazdani (2002) in Jawalgaonreservoir and Ujani wetland reported 23 and 54 species respectively. All specimens are deposited in the national collection of Zoological Survey of India, Western Regional Station, Pune. While studying the fishes in the collection, we found four specimens belonging to Rasbora caverii (Jerdon) (Image 1). A perusal of literature found no previous record of this species from Maharashtra State.

A systematic list of fishes of Solapur District from the various expeditions in the ZSI collections is given in Table 1 following Jayaram (1999).

Rasbora caverii (Jerdon, 1849)

1849. Leuciscus caverii Jerdon, Madras J. Lit. and Sci.,15 : 320 (Type locality Cauvery river, Coorg, Karnataka)

1937. Rasbora caverii, Hora, Rec. Indian Mus., 39 : 26-28, fig.11(Status discussed)

1981. Rasbora caverii, Jayaram, Handbk. Freshw. Fish. India : 84-85 (Distribution and key to species)

Materials examined:4 exs.,21.ix.1978, Shirshi Village, Akkalkot,Solapur District, coll. A.S. Mahabal, P/2512. 5 exs., 8.iv.1983, Shivganga river, Narsapur, Pune district, coll. M.S. Pradhan, P/2637.

Common Name: Cauvery Rasbora

Fin formula: (D. 9, P.14, V.7, A.8, LL.32)

Diagnostic features:Mouth small, obliquely directed upwards, maxilla not extending to below anterior border of the orbit. Symphysial knob on lower jaw present. Barbels absent. Dorsal fin inserted considerably behind origin of pelvic fins but does not extend over anal fin, its commencement considerably nearer to caudal fin base than to snout tip. Caudal fin forked with both lobes pointed, lower lobe slightly longer. Body with a faintly marked lateral streak. The lateral band more prominent in posterior half of the body.

Size: Total length: 54-112mm; Standard length: 51-87mm.

Head length 5.10 to 5.60 in total length

Eye diameter 3.50 to 3.60 in head length

Body depth 5.00 in total length

Scale count:

Between LL and dorsal fin base: 5½ Pre-dorsal scales: 15

Between LL and pelvic fin base: 1½-2 Pre-pelvic scales: 11

Between LL and anal fin base: 1½-2 Pre-anal scales: 22

Distribution: Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

Elsewhere: Sri Lanka

Discussion

The collection at ZSI Pune consists of 41 species belonging to 26 genera of 11 families from Solapur District. Nine species such as Nangra itchkeea (Sykes), Nemachilichthys rupelli (Sykes), Oreonectes evezardi (Day), Rasbora caverii (Jerdon), Crossocheilus latius latius (Ham-Buch), Salmostoma phulo (Ham-Buch), Salmostoma acinaces (Val.), Puntius sarana subnasutus (Val.), Osteobrama cotio peninsularis Silas are reported for the first time from this district. Besides, Rasbora caverii (Jerdon) is a new report from Maharashtra State.

Note

After finalization of the manuscript, the study of fish fauna of Pune District revealed the presence of Rasbora caverii (Jerdon). While measuring the specimens from Pune, we found that the size ranges as Total length: 54-112mm and Standard length: 51-87mm.

References

Kunte, B.G. (ed.) (1977). Maharashtra State Gazetteer of Solapur District, 1147pp.

Jayaram, K.C. (1999). The Freshwater Fishes of the Indian Regions. Narendra Publishing House, New Delhi, xxvii+551pp+xviiipls.

Sakhare, V.B. (2001). Ichthyofauna of Jawalgaon reservoir in Solapur District (MS). Journal of Aquatic Biology16(1&2): 31-33.

Singh, D.F. & G.M. Yazdani (2002). Fishes. Wetland Ecosystem Series No.3, Zoological Survey of India. Fauna of Ujani(Maharashtra), pp.143-156. Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta.