Edit Opsarius shacra

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Name

Scientific name

Opsarius shacra

Described by

Authority Hamilton, Year 1822, Bracketed

Family

Cyprinidae

Common names

Not recorded

Photograph credits

All 3 credited

Summary

Opsarius shacra is a cyprinid from the Himalayan foothills of Nepal and northern India, in the Ganges and Brahmaputra systems, and from Ban…

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

2–12dGH

Conductivity

Not recorded

Behaviour

Temperament

Not recorded

Community suitability

Not for a community

Where it lives

Countries, regions, rivers and lakes

Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Brahmaputra, Gandaki, Ganges, Ghaghara, Karnali, Koshi, Padma, Sharda

Writing

Etymology

Opsarius: apparently from an Ancient Greek word meaning 'small fish'. shacra: presumably derived from a vernacular Bengali name for this species.

Distribution

Recorded from many rivers draining the Himalayan foothills in Nepal and northern India within the Ganges and Brahmaputra river systems, and is also known from …

Habitat

Inhabits well-oxygenated, medium-to-high gradient, moderate to fast-flowing rivers and tributaries with substrates of gravel, cobbles, larger boulders and expo…

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

Unconfirmed, but sexually mature females should be heavier-bodied than males when gravid.

Reproduction

Unreported.

Notes

This species is poorly-known in the aquarium hobby but is exported on occasion. It's told apart from congeners by the following combination of characters: one …

This species is poorly-known in the aquarium hobby but is exported on occasion.

It's told apart from congeners by the following combination of characters: one pair each of maxillary and rostral barbels present; tubercles on head and body poorly-developed; 59-70 lateral line scales; 12 vertical bars on each flank, occasionally absent; dorsal-fin insertion anterior to anal-fin insertion; dorsal-fin with black band in the upper third; 22-25 predorsal scales.

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.

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References

9 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