Day's baril explained

Barilius evezardi is a fish in genus Barilius of the family Cyprinidae. It is found in Maharashtra of India, specifically in the upper reaches of rivers on hills.

Physiology

All species of Barilius carp are described as having somewhat stretched bodies, with B. evezardi reaching from around 11 to 18 centimeters in length. Their bodies resemble a rounded, compressed imperfect cylinder. Their heads, by contrast, are quite acute, with especially edged snouts. They have large eyes, and a mouth that's directed upwards, with their lower jaw being smaller than their upper jaw. They also have 3 rows of pharyngeal teeth. Their caudal fin is also forked, and their air bladder is free, large, and it encompasses the whole breadth of the abdomen.[1]

The Day's baril has several unique characteristics among its Barilius brethren. It is the only Barilius fish to have a lateral band. It is also described as having "large & well developed" tubercles on its head, while other Barilius carps are described as either having "poor, undeveloped" tubercles, or simply large tubercles on different areas. It also has absent barbels, and although that's not unique to only this Barilius, over half of the Barilius species have barbels.[2]

Etymology

The fish is named in honor of Col. George C. Evezard (1826-1901) of the Bombay Staff Corps, who assisted in the collection of natural specimens in Puna, India.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: P.M. . Raagam . An overview of the hill trouts (Barilius spp.) of the Indian region . researchgate.net . Raagam P M . 6 February 2023.
  2. Web site: Nath . P . A NEW FISH SPECIES OF THE GENUS BARILIUS (CYPRINIDAE: RASBORINAE), FROM RIVER SIANG, D'ERING MEMORIAL WILDLIFE SANCTUARY, ARUNACHAL PRADESH, INDIA . Fauna of India . P. Nath . 6 February 2023.
  3. Web site: Order CYPRINIFORMES: Family SUNDADANIONIDAE and DANIONIDAE . 6 April 2022 . Christopher Scharpf . Kenneth J. Lazara . amp . The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database . Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara . 22 September 2018 . 15 February 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200215164517/http://www.etyfish.org/cypriniformes12/ . dead .