Bagridae) from Stanley Reservoir, Tamil Nadu, India

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Journal of Threatened Taxa Building evidence for conservaton globally www.threatenedtaxa.org ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) Note First report of the catfish Nilgiri Mystus Hemibagrus punctatus (Jerdon, 1849) (Bagridae) from Stanley Reservoir, Tamil Nadu, India

Jayasimhan Praveenraj, Nallathambi Moulitharan & M.P. Goutham-Bharathi

26 January 2019 | Vol. 11 | No. 1 | Pages: 13175–13179 DOI: 10.11609/jot.4199.11.1.13175-13179

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First report of the catfish Nilgiri Mystus (=Hemibagrus Bleeker, 1862) from Hemibagrus punctatus (Jerdon, 1849) the Cauvery River and its tributaries (Bagridae) from Stanley Reservoir, in southern India. Subsequent Tamil Nadu, India records of the species are available ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) from the main stem of the Cauvery ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) Jayasimhan Praveenraj 1 , Nallathambi Moulitharan 2 (Rao & Seshachar 1927; Hora 1937; PLATINUM & M.P. Goutham-Bharathi 3 Ali et al. 2013) and its various OPEN ACCESS tributaries including Bhavani (Day 1 Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Island Agricultural 1867, 1877, 1878; Mukerji 1931; Research Insttute, Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands 744101, Rajan 1955), Moyar (Rajan 1955; India. 2 Dr. M.G.R. Fisheries College and Research Insttute, Ponneri, Rajan 1963; Manimekalan 1998), Hemavathy (Jayaram Tiruvallur, Tamil Nadu 601204, India. 1977; Madhyastha & Murugan 1993), Kabini (Easa & 3 Zoological Survey of India, Andaman and Nicobar Regional Centre Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands 744101, India. Shaji 1997), and Bhavani (Athikadavu) (Ali et al. 2013). 1 [email protected] (corresponding author), Recent ichthyofaunal surveys (March 2018) in the Stanley 2 [email protected], 3 [email protected] Reservoir (Image 1; Fig. 1) resulted in the collecton of 10 specimens of H. punctatus, which consttutng a new distributon record for the species. The collected The catish genus Hemibagrus is represented by specimens were identfed following Jerdon (1849) and three species in the Indian subcontnent, namely, H. Ng & Kotelat (2013) and subsequently preserved in 10% menoda (Hamilton, 1822), H. maydelli (Rössel, 1964), formalin and deposited in the freshwater fsh collectons and H. punctatus (Jerdon, 1849). Hemibagrus menoda is of the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata (ZSI FF7653- reported from the Brahmaputra, Ganges, Mahanadi, and 7654), and in the personal collecton of J. Praveenraj Godavari river drainages in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh (JPC-1-8) (Table 1). (Ng & Ferraris 2000; Ng 2010) and H. maydelli is known Materials collected: ZSI FF 7653-7654, 2ex., to be restricted to the Krishna River system in peninsular 16.iii.2018, 138.84–162.82 mm SL, India, Tamil Nadu, India (Dahanukar et al. 2011). The Nilgiri Mystus H. Cauvery River, Stanley Reservoir, 11.90N & 77.770E, punctatus is endemic to the Cauvery River system in the 221.50m, coll. N. Moulitharan; JPC-1-8, 8 ex., 16.iii.2018, Western Ghats of India (Dahanukar et al. 2004; Ng & 132.97–179.8 mm SL, India, Tamil Nadu, Cauvery River, Kotelat 2013), where it faces severe threats including Stanley Reservoir, 11.90N & 77.770E, coll. N. Moulitharan. polluton, habitat alteraton due to constructon of dams Hemibagrus punctatus was not recorded specifcally and indiscriminate fshing resultng in drastc populaton from the Stanley Reservoir in the scientfc literature declines close to 100% and the species being listed as despite being known to be consistently harvested in gill Critcally Endangered on the IUCN Red List (Raghavan & net (mesh size 24–45 mm) fsheries. Locally known as Ali 2011). ‘Kallu Keluthi’ in Tamil (Kallu: stone, Keluthi: catish), Jerdon (1849) described Bagrus punctatus this species, however, represents only a negligible part

DOI: htps://doi.org/10.11609/jot.4199.11.1.13175-13179 | ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7F05A4BB-865C-4304-8A17-B945F752E96C

Editor: Rajeev Raghavan, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, Kochi, India. Date of publicaton: 26 January 2019 (online & print)

Manuscript details: #4199 | Received 18 April 2018 | Final received 03 January 2019 | Finally accepted 10 January 2019

Citaton: Praveenraj, J., N. Moulitharan & M.P. Goutham-Bharathi (2019). First report of the catish Nilgiri Mystus Hemibagrus punctatus (Jerdon, 1849) (Bagridae) from Stanley Reservoir, Tamil Nadu, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 11(1): 13175–13179; htps://doi.org/10.11609/jot.4199.11.1.13175-13179

Copyright: Praveenraj et al. 2019. Creatve Commons Atributon 4.0 Internatonal License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproducton, and distributon of this artcle in any medium by adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publicaton.

Funding: None.

Competng interests: The authors declare no competng interests.

Acknowledgements: The frst author acknowledges Deepak Ganguly for the preparaton of images. The second author acknowledges the assistance and support ofered by K.P. Kumar and C. Samythurai, Kolathur, during the feld trips at Stanley Reservoir, India.

13175 Report of Nilgiri Mystus from Stanley Reservoir Praveenraj et al.

Figure 1. Locaton of Stanley Reservoir in Tamil Nadu, India Image 1. Collecton site of Hemibagrus punctatus: a pool cut of from the Stanley Reservoir in Tamil Nadu, India

Image 2. Hemibagrus punctatus. A - live specimen, 139.06mm SL, B - preserved specimens (n=10), C - black arrows indicatng forked maxillary barbel. of the capture fsheries of the reservoir and is generally 3), and increasing occurrence of invasive alien species, consumed in the dry form. namely, Oreochromis spp. and Clarias gariepinus (Image Hemibagrus punctatus is widely considered to be 4). a rare species as most previous records are based only One specimen of H. punctatus (JPC-8, 179.8mm SL) on a single specimen (e.g., Mukerji 1931; Hora 1937; was dissected for examining the gut content, which Rajan 1955). This species was also considered extnct revealed traces of fsh and terrestrial grass. In the from its natve range untl its rediscovery (based on four specimens examined, we also noted the presence of specimens) afer a gap of 14 years from the tributaries forked maxillary barbel (Image 2C), an aberraton that of Cauvery in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka (Ali et al. 2013). was also recorded in Mystus vitatus (Bloch, 1794) (Rao A number of factors pose threat to the contnued 1984). survival of H. punctatus in and around the Stanley Although H.punctatus is assessed as Critcally Reservoir, including ghost fshing, use of pestcides for Endangered (Raghavan & Ali 2013), Ali et al. (2013) agriculture along the shores of the reservoir (Image suggested reassigning it to the Vulnerable category

13176 Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 January 2019 | 11(1): 13175–13179 Report of Nilgiri Mystus from Stanley Reservoir Praveenraj et al.

Table 1. Morphometric characters of Hemibagrus punctatus (n=10) from Stanley Reservoir in Tamil Nadu, India. All proportonal measurements are expressed as percents of standard length and head length.

Characters Mean (Mean ± S.E.) Characters Mean (Mean ± S.E.)

Standard Length (SL) 155.77±5.55mm Nasal barbel length 11.16

In % SL In mm Mandibular barbel length 23.51

Head length 27.77 Inner mandibular barbel length 12.47

Head depth 14.40 Eye diameter 3.69

Maximum head width 20.44 Snout length 11.42

Pre-dorsal length 39.75 Inter-orbital length 9.91

Pre-pectoral length 26.71 Dorsal spine length 13.15

Pre-pelvic length 52.63 Caudal-fn length 22.50

Pre-anal length 70.47 Post-orbital length 12.69

Pre-anus length 59.29 Body depth at anus 15.65

Least depth of caudal peduncle 10.04 Pectoral-spine length 16.75

Caudal-peduncle length 17.53 Head length (HL) 43.26±1.81mm

Dorsal-fn length 19.67 In % HL

Dorsal-fn base length 15.44 Head depth 51.86

Pectoral-fn length 18.49 Maximum head width 70.29

Pectoral-fn base length 4.80 Eye diameter 13.29

Pelvic-fn length 14.94 Snout length 41.13

Anal-fn length 14.04 Inter-orbital length 35.69

Anal-fn base length 12.23 Post-orbital length 45.69

Dorsal to adipose distance 17.82 Maxillary barbel length 212.24

Adipose-fn height 4.60 Nasal barbel length 40.20

Adipose-fn base length 12.97 Mandibular barbel length 84.67

Post adipose distance 15.58 Inner mandibular barbel length 44.90 Maxillary barbel length 58.94

Image 3. Around Stanley Reservoir in Tamil Nadu, India. A - abandoned net on exposed rocks, B - burning of old nets at the banks, C - evidence of use of pestcides for agriculture carried out along the banks.

Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 January 2019 | 11(1): 13175–13179 13177 Report of Nilgiri Mystus from Stanley Reservoir Praveenraj et al.

Image 4. Catch from the H. punctatus collecton site. A - Oreochromis spp., B - Clarias gariepinus.

considering that its average populaton decline was more Day, F. (1867). On the fshes of the Neilgherry Hills and rivers around than or equal to 30%. This species, however, contnues their bases. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1867(2): 281–302. to face a decline in its natve range (Ali et al. 2013), and Day, F. (1877). The Fishes of India; being a Natural History of the Fishes ecological and community-based conservaton measures known to inhabit the Seas and Fresh waters of India, Burma, and Ceylon, Part 3. Bernard Quaritch, 15 Piccadilly, London, pp. 369– need to be implemented to ensure healthy populatons 552+pl79–138. of this threatened species. Day, F. (1878). The Fishes of India; being a Natural History of the Fishes known to inhabit the Seas and Fresh waters of India, Burma, and Ceylon, Vol. 1, Part 4. Bernard Quaritch, 15 Piccadilly, London, pp. References 553–779+pl139–195. Easa, P.S. & C.P. Shaji (1997). Freshwater fsh diversity in Kerala part of Ali, A., N. Dahanukar, A. Kanagavel, S. Philip & R. Raghavan (2013). the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Current Science 73(2): 180–182. Records of the endemic and threatened catish Hemibagrus Hora, S.L. (1937). Notes on fshes in the Indian Museum, on three punctatus from the southern Western Ghats with notes on its collectons of fsh from Mysore and Coorg, south India. Records of distributon, ecology and conservaton status. Journal of Threatened the Indian Museum 39: 5–28. Taxa 5(11): 4569–4578; htps://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3427.4569- Jayaram, K.C. (1977). Aid to identfcaton of Siluroid fshes of India, 78 Burma, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, 1: Bagridae. Records of Dahanukar, N. (2013). Hemibagrus maydelli. In: The IUCN Red List the Zoological Survey of India. Miscellaneous Publicaton, Occasional of Threatened Species: e.T172364A6876701. Downloaded on Paper 8: 1–41. 29 March 2018; htps://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-1.RLTS. Jerdon, T.C. (1849). On the freshwater fshes of southern India T172364A6876701.en (contnued from p149). Madras Journal of Literature and Science Dahanukar, N., R. Raut & A. Bhat (2004). Distributon, endemism 15(2): 302–346. and threat status of freshwater fshes in the Western Ghats of Madhyastha, M.N. & S. Murugan (1993). Socio-economic status of India. Journal of Biogeography 31(1): 123–136; htps://www.doi. fsherfolk in relaton to fsh and fsheries of Hemavathy Reservoir. org/10.1046/j.0305-0270.2003.01016.x Indian Journal of Fisheries 40(4): 267–269. Dahanukar, N., R. Raghavan, A. Ali, R. Abraham & C.P. Shaji (2011). Manimekalan, A. (1998). The fshes of Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, The status and distributon of freshwater fshes of the Western Tamil Nadu, south India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Ghats, pp21–48. In: Molur, S., K.G. Smith, B.A. Daniel & W.R.T. Society 95(3): 431–443. Darwall (compilers). The Status of Freshwater Biodiversity in the Mukerji, D.D. (1931). On a small collecton of fsh from the Bhavani Western Ghats. Internatonal Union for Conservaton of Nature River (s. India). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 35(1): (IUCN) Gland, Switzerland & Zoo Outreach Organizaton (ZOO), 162–171. Coimbatore, India, 116pp. Ng, H.H. (2010). Hemibagrus menoda. In: The IUCN Red List of

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Threatened Species: e.T166448A6211013. Downloaded on 29 Rajan, S. (1955). Notes on a collecton of fsh from the headwaters March 2018; htps://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS. of the Bhavani River, south India. Journal of the Bombay Natural T166448A6211013.en History Society 53: 44–48. Ng, H.H. & C.J. Ferraris Jr. (2000). A review of the genus Hemibagrus in Rajan, S. (1963). Ecology of the fshes of rivers Pykara and Moyar southern Asia, with descriptons of two new species. Proceedings of (Nilgiris), s. India. Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences B the California Academy of Sciences 52(11): 125–142. 58: 291–293. Ng, H.H. & M. Kotelat (2013). Revision of the Asian catish genus Rao, C.R.N. & B.R. Seshachar (1927). Notes on the freshwater fsh of Hemibagrus Bleeker, 1862 (Teleostei: Siluriformes: Bagridae). The Mysore. Half Yearly Journal of Mysore University 1: 115–143. Rafes Bulletn of Zoology 61(1): 205–291. Rao, M.B. (1984). On an abnormal catish Mystus vitatus (Bloch, Raghavan, R. & A. Ali (2011). Hemibagrus punctatus. In: The IUCN 1794) (Pisces: Bagridae) with a forked maxillary barbell. Bulletn of Red List of Threatened Species: e.T172430A6890986. Downloaded the Zoological Survey of India 6(1–3): 295–296. on 29 March 2018; htps://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-1.RLTS. T172430A6890986.en

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