Edit Opsarius gatensis

You can suggest changes to this profile. A moderator will review each change.

Name

Scientific name

Opsarius gatensis

Described by

Authority Valenciennes, Year 1844, Bracketed

Family

Cyprinidae

Common names

Malabar Baril

Photograph credits

All 5 credited

Summary

The Malabar baril, Opsarius gatensis, is a cyprinid endemic to the Western Ghats of southern India, in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Oc…

Size and aquarium

Maximum size

130mm, standard length

Aquarium size

Minimum length 150 cm, Minimum depth 60 cm

Water

Water conditions

Temperature 18–26°C, pH 6–7.5

Hardness

2–10dGH

Conductivity

Not recorded

Behaviour

Temperament

Not recorded

Community suitability

Not for a community

Where it lives

Countries, regions, rivers and lakes

India, Bhagra, Bharatapuzha, Cauvery, Chalakudy, Periyar, Sharavathi, Tambraparni

Writing

Etymology

Opsarius: apparently from an Ancient Greek word meaning 'small fish'. gatensis: named for the type locality which is given as 'Mountain of Gates' in the origin…

Distribution

Current records suggest it to be endemic to and occur throughout the Western Ghats mountains, southern India, with records from both east and west-flowing rive…

Habitat

Inhabits well-oxygenated, low-to-medium gradient, moderate to fast-flowing rivers and streams with substrates of gravel, cobbles, larger boulders and exposed b…

Aquarium size

Requires a large aquarium with minimum surface area of 150 ∗ 60 cm or equivalent.

Maintenance

The aquarium should ideally be designed to resemble a flowing stream or river with a substrate of variably-sized rocks, sand, fine gravel, and some larger wate…

Water conditions

Not written yet

Diet

Barilius spp. are predominantly surface-feeders preying on aquatic and terrestrial insects in nature, with some small fishes and benthic invertebrates probably…

Behaviour and compatibility

Unsuitable for the general community due to its environmental requirements, and likely to outcompete or intimidate slow-moving and less bold species at meal ti…

Sexual dimorphism

Adult females are less-brightly-coloured, tend to grow a little larger and are thicker-bodied than males, especially when gravid. Nuptial males develop breedin…

Reproduction

Unreported.

Notes

This species is occasionally seen in the ornamental trade, sometimes under the alternative vernacular names of 'river baril, 'river carp-baril', or 'striated h…

This species is occasionally seen in the ornamental trade, sometimes under the alternative vernacular names of 'river baril, 'river carp-baril', or 'striated hill trout'.

It can be told apart from congeners by the following combination of characters: 1 pair of minute rostral barbels; 39-40 lateral line scales; 15 predorsal scales; 13-15 dark blue vertical bars on the body, sometimes oblong in shape and often almost breaking up in adults; dorsal and anal fins with dark pigment at base.

The generic placement of Barilius species has been open to question since Howes (1980) concluded that the Barilius grouping, within which they were included at the time, was not monophyletic and identified two separate lineages. The first group contained B. barila, the type species, plus B. bendelisis, B. radiolatus, B. vagra, and B. shacra, while the second included all other species, and initially these were referred to the subdivisions 'group i' and 'group ii' within Barilius itself.

The composition of these groups is confusing since in a later work Howes (1983) included B. evezardi and B. modestus in 'group i' whilst omitting B. bendelisis, B. radiolatus, and B. shacra without explicitly stating why.

Rainboth (1991) assigned the members of Howe's 'group ii' to the revalidated generic name Opsarius based on the fact it was the oldest available with 'group i' species retaining the name Barilius due to the presence of the type species.

This system has been followed by some subsequent authors, e.g., Tang et al. (2010) and Collins et al. (2012) but not gain wider usage until Kottelat (2013), who included all former Barilius from Southeast Asia in Opsarius.

Editing needs JavaScript. This is the text as it was last saved.

Where does this come from?

My own experienceFor example, I've kept twelve in a planted 60 cm tank since March 2024.A website I sawFor example, an IUCN Red List assessment, a museum catalogue or a FishBase page.A paperFor example, Marshall et al. (2011), Water temperature differences in interfluvial palm swamp habitats of Paracheirodon axelrodi and P. simulans.A book, or something not onlineFor example, Tappin (2010), Rainbowfishes: their care and keeping in captivity.Something already on the pageFor example, the Behaviour and compatibility section already says this.

Web address

Paste the address of the page that says this. What counts as a source

DOI

Paste a DOI and we will look up the rest of the reference. A DOI looks like 10.11646/zootaxa.4694.4.1, and most papers print it on the first page.

Title

Enter the title of the paper, book or page. If you leave it empty, we will use the website's address.

Authors

Separate authors with semicolons, e.g. Tan, H.H.; Ng, P.K.L.

Year

Journal or publisher

Pages

Enter the page that says this, e.g. 218 or 218–221.

Anything worth adding

Describe what you saw, or which part of the source says this.

References

7 on this profile

Name

Scientific name

Described by

Family

Common names

Photograph credits

Summary

Size and aquarium

Maximum size

Aquarium size

Water

Water conditions

Hardness

Conductivity

Behaviour

Temperament

Social needs

Community suitability

Where it lives

Countries, regions, rivers and lakes

Writing

Etymology

Distribution

Habitat

Aquarium size

Maintenance

Water conditions

Diet

Behaviour and compatibility

Sexual dimorphism

Reproduction

Notes

References

References