The humpback mahseer (''Hypselobarbus mussullah'') is a species of freshwater

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

from the Indian endemic genus ''

Hypselobarbus ''Hypselobarbus'' is a genus of fish in the family Cyprinidae endemic to India. Species These are currently recognized species in this genus: * '' Hypselobarbus basavarajai'' Arunachalam, Chinnaraja & Mayden, 2016 * '' Hypselobarbus bicolor'' ...

'' in the

carp The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...

and

minnow Minnow is the common name for a number of species of small freshwater fish, belonging to several genus, genera of the family Cyprinidae and in particular the subfamily Leuciscinae. They are also known in Ireland as wikt:pinkeen, pinkeens. While ...

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Cyprinidae Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family, including the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives the barbs and barbels, among others. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family, and t ...

Description

The humpback mahseer is a large cyprinid that has a laterally compressed body which is just over a quarter as deep as it is long (

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is ...

). with a steep dorsal profile forming an obvious hump which runs to the base of the

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

and then slopes gently away to the

caudal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

. It has a narrow, thick lipped mouth which is downward facing with two pairs of short

barbel Barbel may refer to: *Barbel (anatomy), a whisker-like organ near the mouth found in some fish (notably catfish, loaches and cyprinids) and turtles *Barbel (fish), a common name for certain species of fish **''Barbus barbus'', a species of cyprini ...

s behind the mouth. One pair is rostral and one pair is maxillary and this is one of the features that distinguishes it from otherwise similar species. The dorsal fin origin is just in front of the origin of the

pelvic fins Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral (belly) surface of fish, and are the lower of the only two sets of paired fins (the other being the laterally positioned pectoral fins). The pelvic fins are homologous to the hi ...

and the dorsal fin is concave on its upper margin, with a strong, smooth and stiff spine. The caudal fin is deeply forked with small

tubercule In anatomy, a tubercle (literally 'small tuber', Latin for 'lump') is any round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth found on external or internal organs of a plant or an animal. In plants A tubercle is generally a wart-like projection, ...

s on the rays. The overall colour is brown with a paler abdomen and it may have dark tips to the fins. It can grow to a maximum total length of and a weight of . However, the rod and reel caught record fish was roughly and measured in length while a fish caught by other means was and . The fish was originally described by Sykes as having these meristic features: which has been instrumental in clearing the confusion between ''Hypselobarbus mussulah'' and '' Tor remadevii'', the lateral line scale count is shown as 42, which clearly demonstrates this fish is not a

mahseer Mahseer is the common name used for the genera ''Tor (fish), Tor'', ''Neolissochilus'', ''Naziritor'' and ''Parator zonatus, Parator'' in the family Cyprinidae (carps). The name is, however, more often restricted to members of the genus ''Tor'' ...

(member of genus ''Tor'').

Distribution

The humpback mahseer is endemic to the Western Ghats in southern India. It has been recorded from the

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

and possibly the

Godavari The Godavari (, �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga River and drains the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakeshwar, Nashik, Maharash ...

in the states of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

and

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. It occurs in isolated pockets and the species' distribution is extremely fragmented and the total area of the species range is probably less than .

Habitat and ecology

The humpback mahseer shows a preference for the deeper stretches of clear, fast flowing large jungle streams and rivers in upland areas. It has an omnivorous diet and feeds on fish, crustaceans, molluscs, frogs, fruits and algae.

Conservation

The humpback mahseer is a sought after fish for anglers from the British colonial times to the present although the actual species involved was not determined as the original

description Description is any type of communication that aims to make vivid a place, object, person, group, or other physical entity. It is one of four rhetorical modes (also known as ''modes of discourse''), along with exposition, argumentation, and narr ...

of ''Barbus mussulah'' was not considered definitive. The species was redescribed as ''Hypselobarbus mussullah'' in the 1990s and 2016 and the species is the type specimen of the genus ''Hypselobarbus''. When this species was classified under ''Tor mussulah'', it was considered synonymous with the orange-finned mahseer (''Tor remadevii''), a highly endangered species endemic to the

Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery) is a Rivers of India, major river flowing across Southern India. It is the third largest river in the region after Godavari River, Godavari and Krishna River, Krishna. The catchment area of the Kaveri basin i ...

basin, unlike the humpback which is endemic to the Krishna basin. When the humpback was reclassified to ''Hypselobarbus'', the orange-finned mahseer was split from it for this reason.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q6403532 Hypselobarbus Taxa named by William Henry Sykes Fish described in 1839