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Abhisek Mishra (3)

In a few publications the genus Olyra has been placed in its own family Olyridae: sub family Olyrinae. The family was erected by Hora in 1936. Mo(1991) revised the Bagridae family and proposed a new classification for Olyra. He classed on a cladistic pattern focusing on osteological characters. On the basis of his cladogram of the Bagridae family it was found the Olyra is deeply nested within other bagrid genera and as such cannot be retained as a separate family. Description: Dorsal soft rays (total): 8; Anal soft rays: 17 - 19; Vertebrae: 46 - 49. Olyra saginata can be diagnosed from all species of the genus Olyra by the possession of the following unique combination of characters: interorbital distance 27.9-35.9% HL; 54-66 pored lateral line scales; body depth at anus 10.5-12.0% SL; length of adipose-fin base 17.3-22.4% SL; adipose fin separate from upper principal caudal-fin rays; post-adipose distance 11.8-14.3% SL; caudal peduncle length 14.8-17.7% SL; and caudal peduncle depth 7.8-8.9% SL. Habitat: Found in a shallow stream with moderate to strong current and substrate composed of sand, pebble and rocks. Occurs in association with the following fish species: Badis spp. (Badidae), Rasbora rasbora (Cyprinidae), Garra spp, (Cyprinidae), Glyptothorax chimtuipuiensis (Sisoridae), G. caudimaculatus (Sisoridae) and Pseudolaguvia nubila (Sisoridae). Aquarium Care: Will fit into a community tank alongside other Asian fish such as the larger species of Danios and Barbs. It is extremely territorial with its own kind so would need to be given plenty of hiding places to curb this aggresion. Diet: Most aquarium based foods such as frozen (bloodworms) live and tablet foods. Etymology: The specific name saginata: fattened, crammed or feasted, referring to the relatively deep body compared to congeners from the northeastern part of the Indian subcontinent. Remarks: The image contributor states that O. saginata seems to be the very opposite in nature to what Olyra are generally described i.e aggressive. For a brief amount of time that I have housed them I have seen no aggressive behaviour towards each other nor towards tank mates. But as they acclimatise to the tank it will interesting to note their behaviour (Mishra, A. 2022).

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Bagridae

Asia: Palak, Sala and Tuisi rivers (all tributaries of the Kaladan River) in Mizoram, India.

8.5cm (3½ins)

16-22°C (63-71°F)

6.0-7.0.

Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2022. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version.
Mishra, A. pers comm 2022.
Ng, H.H., Lalramliana and H. Lalthanzara, 2014. Olyra saginata, a new species of bagrid catfish (Actinopterygii: Siluriformes) from northeastern India. Zootaxa 3821(2):265-272.