The hump-backed mahseer (Hypselobarbus mussullah) – one of the world’s most iconic freshwater fish – is on the brink of extinction, says a group of scientists led by Dr Adrian Pinder of Bournemouth University, UK.
The hump-backed mahseer (Hypselobarbus mussullah). Image credit: Adrian Pinder.
The hump-backed mahseer, also known as the Deccan mahseer, was first described in 1839 by the English naturalist William Henry Sykes.
This giant member of the carp family is a highly priced food fish. It grows up to 39 inches (1 meter) long and is well known to anglers as one of the largest and hardest fighting freshwater fish on the planet.
The species prefers deeper portions of clear fast flowing large jungle streams and rivers.
With its distribution having always been limited to South India’s River Kaveri basin, the hump-backed mahseer is now believed to be so endangered it may be extinct in the wild within a generation.
A new study published in the journal Endangered Species Research clearly demonstrates that the species is now of the brink of extinction having been replaced by non-native relatives (blue-finned mahseer), which have been artificially bred and introduced to Kaveri (also spelled Cauvery) River.
The introduction of non-native mahseer has acted as the catalyst which has had a catastrophic effect on the numbers of endemic mahseer remaining in the river and its tributaries.
“The blue-finned mahseer is not native to Kaveri River, yet our studies over the last two years have shown that they are now one of the most abundant fish in the river,” Dr Pinder said.
“Without a doubt, their success has been at the expense of the hump-backed mahseer that historically occurred throughout the entire river catchment. Despite the positive intention of conservationists, this is clearly a conservation programme which has backfired.”
“My current priority is on sourcing specimens of the endemic hump-backed mahseer. If we are not already too late, obtaining DNA from this animal will allow us to name the fish and, based on our data, get it classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.”
“When you consider that the iconic Giant panda and tiger are classified as Endangered this puts things in context and demonstrates the urgency to act in sourcing native fish for culturing in local hatcheries.”
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Pinder AC et al. 2015. The legendary hump-backed mahseer Tor sp. of India’s River Cauvery: an endemic fish swimming towards extinction? ESR 28: 11-17; doi: 10.3354/esr00673
