Tor remadevii explained

Tor remadevii, the orange-finned mahseer, also known as the hump-backed mahseer, is a Critically Endangered species of freshwater fish endemic to the Western Ghats of India.[1] It is restricted to the Kaveri river basin.

It can be distinguished from other mahseer by the prominent hump originating above the pre-opercle, a distinctive kink in the pre-opercule, a terminal mouth position, and its bright orange caudal fin. It is considered a high-quality game fish, and has been proclaimed by anglers as "the largest and hardest fighting freshwater fish in the world".[2]

Conservation Issues

Among the reasons for the species' extreme threat status is the introduction of non-native mahseers Tor khudree [3] and Himalayan golden mahseer (Tor putitora) [4] to the wider Kaveri river basin. Also endangering this species is the heavy construction of dams along the Kaveri and tributaries, as well as the use of dynamite fishing.[5] These and other factors including loss of riparian cover, industrial and urban pollutions, irrigation and abstraction, plus climatic changes in monsoon weather patterns led to a heavy crash in hump-backed mahseer populations around 2004.
Despite this endangered status, the general lack of a formal scientific name had previously hampered efforts to protect the species. However, a 2018 study found that the orange-finned mahseer was in fact conspecific with Tor remadevii, a little-known species identified in 2007 based on 19 individuals [6] sampled from the Pambar River in 2004.[7] This has allowed the species as known from historic records across the whole river basin to finally gain a scientific name and an updated Red Listing. These will both be of help for future conservation efforts.

Notes and References

  1. Tor remadevii . 2019-01-15.
  2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00673
  3. https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/34337/1/Pinder%20et%20al_JoTT_2020.pdf
  4. Web site: Tales from Velimeen Land . 20 August 2021 .
  5. News: Can its scientific name save India's famed hump-backed mahseer?. 2018-06-22. Research Matters. 2018-06-30. en.
  6. Tor Remadevii, A New Species of Tor (Gray) from Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Pambar River, Kerala, Southern India . The Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society . 23 January 2024 . 107 . 3 . 227––230 . Kurup . B Madhusoodana . Kurup . B. Madhusoodana . Radhakrishnan . K. V. .
  7. Pinder. Adrian C.. Manimekalan. Arunachalam. Knight. J. D. Marcus. Krishnankutty. Prasannan. Britton. J. Robert. Philip. Siby. Dahanukar. Neelesh. Raghavan. Rajeev . amp . 2018-06-20. Resolving the taxonomic enigma of the iconic game fish, the hump-backed mahseer from the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, India. PLOS ONE. en. 13. 6. e0199328. 10.1371/journal.pone.0199328. 29924871. 1932-6203. 6010267. free. 2018PLoSO..1399328P .