Tor remadevii

Tor remadevii, the orange-finned mahseer, also known as the hump-backed mahseer, is a critically endangered species of freshwater fish endemic to the Western Ghats of India.[1] It is restricted to the Kaveri river basin.

Orange-finned mahseer

Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Genus: Tor
Species:
T. remadevii
Binomial name
Tor remadevii
Kurup & Radhakrishnan, 2007

It can be distinguished from other mahseer from the prominent hump on its back, and its bright orange caudal fin. It is considered a high-quality game fish, and has been proclaimed by anglers as "the largest and hardest fighting freshwater fish in the world"[2]. The reason for the species' endangerment is the introduction of a non-native "blue-finned mahseer" (generally considered to be Tor khudree, though the "blue-finned mahseer"'s classification is under scrutiny as it actually may be a different, undescribed species[2]) to the Kaveri river basin. Also endangering this species is the heavy construction of dams along the Cauvery, as well as the use of dynamite fishing.[3] These have led to a heavy crash in mahseer populations since 2004. Despite this endangered status, general lack of a formal scientific name has hampered efforts to protect species. However, a 2018 study found out that the orange-finned mahseer was in fact conspecific with Tor remadevii, a little-known species identified in 2007 based on a single juvenile individual from the Pambar River.[4] This has allowed the species to finally gain a scientific name, which may help conservation efforts.

Preserved specimen.
Young individual caught during 2016 survey of Moyar River.
Very large individual caught in Cauvery by Martin Clark, 1978
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References
  1. "Tor remadevii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  2. Pinder, Adrian C.; Raghavan, R. & Britton, J.R. (2015). "The legendary hump-backed mahseer Tor sp. of India's River Cauvery: an endemic fish swimming towards extinction?". Endangered Species Research. 28 (1): 11–17. doi:10.3354/esr00673.
  3. "Can its scientific name save India's famed hump-backed mahseer?". Research Matters. 22 June 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  4. Pinder, Adrian C.; Manimekalan, Arunachalam; Knight, J. D. Marcus; Krishnankutty, Prasannan; Britton, J. Robert; Philip, Siby; Dahanukar, Neelesh & Raghavan, Rajeev (20 June 2018). "Resolving the taxonomic enigma of the iconic game fish, the hump-backed mahseer from the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, India". PLOS ONE. 13 (6): e0199328. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0199328. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 6010267. PMID 29924871.
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