''Neolissochilus hexagonolepis'', the copper mahseer, chocolate mahseer or katli, 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 ...

belonging to the

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 ...

, the family which includes 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 ...

s, barbs and related fishes. This species is found in Nepal, eastern India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

. It may also be present in China and Viet Nam, also the record sof this species from the easyetn part of its range is uncertain and reports may be misidentifications. In 2021, the Indian state of

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

declared the copper mahseer, locally called 'Katley' as the State fish.

Distribution

The fish is found in different altitudes of the state of Sikkim, mainly in the Teesta and Rangit rivers and their tributaries.

Endangered Status

In 1992, ICAR-National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Lucknow categorized the fish as an endangered specie. In 2014, IUCN, categorized it as an endangered specie.

References

hexagonolepis Taxa named by John McClelland (doctor) Fish described in 1839 Cyprinid fish of Asia Freshwater fish of India Fish of Bangladesh Fish of Nepal Fish of Myanmar Fish of Thailand Fish of Malaysia Fish of Indonesia Freshwater fish of China Fish of Bhutan Fish of Pakistan Fish of Vietnam {{Cyprinidae-stub