''Tor tambra'', the Javan mahseer, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

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'' ...

native to

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

Taxonomy

Tor tambra is a typical

, with

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 ...

features, large scales and a large head comparative to body depth. It is usually longer and slimmer bodied than some other species and head length to body depth measurements are among the critical taxonomic features used for identification. A reddish body colour gives rise to the name kelah merah (red mahseer) in some parts of mainland

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. There have been suggestions that the size and length of the median lobe may be a key to species identity, but this has been proven to be a mistake. Most species of mahseer demonstrate both thick-lipped, large median lobe and thin-lipped, small median lobe morphotypes. ''T. tambra'', '' T. tambroides'' and '' T. douronensis'' may be synonymous.

Distribution

These fish have been found throughout

ranging Length measurement, distance measurement, or range measurement (ranging) all refer to the many ways in which length, distance, or range can be measured. The most commonly used approaches are the rulers, followed by transit-time methods and the ...

from

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

in the

Chao Phraya The Chao Phraya River is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand. Etymology Written evidence of the river being referred to by the ...

and

Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth-longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third-longest in Asia with an estimated l ...

basins to the

Greater Sunda Islands The Greater Sunda Islands (Indonesian language, Indonesian and Malay language, Malay: ''Kepulauan Sunda Besar'') are four tropical islands situated within the Indonesian Archipelago, in the Pacific Ocean. The islands, Borneo, Java, Sulawesi and S ...

and

. The type locality of Tor tambra is the Indonesian island of Java.

Ecology

Common to all

species, Tor tambra is

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize ...

, sometimes eating toxic fruits when the streams it inhabits flood the forest; this may make them temporarily inedible. The fruits of the invasive cash crop, oil palm

Palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...

, known in Malaysia as sawit, are often devoured eagerly by mahseer in streams that flow near to plantations. There are suggestions that during the rainy season, juveniles migrate downstream and that after 2 months, mature adults travel back upstream to spawn at the headwaters in the dry season. It would seem more likely that adult fish access headwaters during high water conditions.

Conservation

This species is another mahseer currently assigned as Data Deficient by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

. The vast majority of scientific work done on this species has been conducted on stock produced by artificial breeding, with assumptions made about the ecology of wild stocks. Dam building, loss of habitat and over-fishing using destructive methods are the main threats to wild populations. There are also concerns about the genetic integrity and breeding success of wild stocks that have been mixed with releases of artificially-bred stocks. The ''empurau'', as the species is known in Malaysia, is reportedly the most expensive edible fish in the country, and has been known to fetch up to RM1800 per

kilogram The kilogram (also spelled kilogramme) is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand grams. It has the unit symbol kg. The word "kilogram" is formed from the combination of the metric prefix kilo- (m ...

of the fish. While wild Tor Tambra fetch up to RM 900 per kilo.

Aquaculture

Across the region, there are many breeding centres for Tor tambra. There are several specialist aquaculture bodies who offer support and guidelines for when breeding fish like Tor tambra. Among the guidelines that should be adhered to when breeding mahseer, the following are some of the most important: * Ideally, brood stock and offspring should be housed in-stream * Brood stock should be cleared-out and replaced at least every two years * Larvae and fingerlings should be fed with natural, live foodstuffs like

Daphnia ''Daphnia'' is a genus of small planktonic crustaceans, in length. ''Daphnia'' are members of the Order (biology), order Anomopoda, and are one of the several small aquatic crustaceans commonly called water fleas because their Saltation (gait), ...

and

Chironomidae Chironomidae , commonly known as non-biting midges or chironomids , are a family of Nematoceran flies with a global distribution. They are closely related to the families Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae. Although many chironomid ...

* Any diseased or infirm stock should be destroyed immediately * Bred fish should not be introduced to the wild without following

conservation stocking guidelines following consultation with the relevant local authorities.

References

External links

Empurau – king of the river

Mahseer Trust , Rivers - Fish - People , Conservation
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5782134 tambra Fish of Thailand Cyprinid fish of Asia taxa named by Achille Valenciennes Fish described in 1842