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Tor (genus) - Definition and Overview |
| Related Words: Blood, Branch, Brand, Breed, Cast, Character, Clan, Class, Classification, Color, Denomination, Description, Family, Feather, Form, Genotype, Genre, Grain, Kidney, Kin |
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The mahseer is a large-scaled carp, family Cyprinidae, a prized game fish found in India and southern Asia generally.
It was originally described by Hamilton in 1822, and first mentioned as an angling challenge by the Oriental Sporting Magazine in 1833, soon becoming a favorite quarry of British anglers living in India. The Golden Mahseer has been known to reach 2.75 m (9 ft) in length and 54 kg (118 lb) in weight, although specimens of this size are rarely seen nowadays.
Mahseers inhabit both rivers and lakes, ascending to rapid streams with rocky bottoms for breeding. Like other types of carp, they are omnivorous, eating not only algae, crustaceans, insects, frogs, and other fish, but also fruit that falls from trees overhead.
In addition to being caught for sport, mahseer are also part of commercial fishing in India.
There are several types of mahseer:
Genus Tor:
- Red-finned Mahseer (also Short-gilled or Deep-bodied Mahseer) Tor tor (Hamilton)
- Golden Mahseer (also Yellow-finned or Common Himalayan Mahseer) Tor putitora (Hamilton)
- Copper Mahseer Tor mosal (Hamilton)
- Jungha Tor progeneius (McClelland)
- Deccan Mahseer Tor khudree (Sykes)
- High-backed Mahseer (also Hump-backed or Southern Mahseer) Tor mussullah (Sykes)
- Malaysian Mahseer (also Kelah or Greater Brook Carp) Tor tambroides
Genus Acrossocheilus:
- Brown Mahseer Acrossocheilus hexagonolepsis
Reference
- Skene Dhu, The angler in India or the Mighty Mahseer (1923, reprinted Natraj Publishers 1993)
- Prakash Nautiyal, ed., Mahseer: The Game Fish (Natural History, Status and Conservation Practices in India and Nepal) (Rachna, 1994)
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