Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters, 1852)

Banyal, Harinder Singh & Kumar, Sanjeev, 2020, On the record of Ichthyofaunal diversity from Narayan Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kachchh, Gujarat, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 120 (2), pp. 147-152 : 150-151

4. Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters, 1852)

Tilapia

1851. Chromis (Tilapia) mossambicus Peters, Ontab. Akad. Wiss. ,

Berlin: 681.

2018. Oreochromis mossambicus : Fricke et al., Fish Taxa, 3 (1): 251.

Material examined: V/3820, 05 ex., Ghodatad dam, Narayan Sarovar WLS, coll. S. Kumar & H. S. Banyal;

07.ix.2018.

Distinguishing characters: D XV-XVI 10-12; A III 10- 11; P 14-15; V I 5. Snout extended; temple with reasonably big scales, beginning with 2 scales amongst the eyes straggled by 9 scales up to the dorsal fin. Grown up males develop a blunted duckbill-like snout due to expanded jaws, regularly activating the upper profile tobecome bowl-shaped.

Distribution: Exotic fish introduced in India for aquaculture including biological control of nuisance plants and animals.

Remarks: Flourishes in reservoirs, rivers, creeks, drains and tidal creeks etc.; usually over mud bases, commonly in well-vegetated areas. Carnivorous in nature and prey on small fishes and sometimes cannibalize their own young.

During present investigation ichthyofaunal study was carried out and reported the occurrence of only 4 species of fishes belonging to 3 orders, 4 families from the wetlands of Narayan Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary of Gujarat state. The order Cyprinodontiformes represented by 2 species under 2 genera and 2 families followed by Cichliformes and Siluriformes with 1 species each. This is the first attempt to document fish diversity of Narayan Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat state.

Dispar Top minnow [ Aphanius dispar (Ruppell, 1829) ], Mosquito fish [ Gambusia affinis (Baird & Girard, 1853) ], Tilapia [ Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters, 1852) ] and Long-whiskered Catfish [ Mystus gulio (Hamilton, 1822) ] were the only species recorded from the study area. These fishes can tolerate salinity and were probably introduced in the wetlands of the sanctuary from the creeks of Mitiyativali, Kapurasi and Kali riverine systems, which are ephemeral in nature ultimately drain into Arabian Sea near