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Pachypterus khavalchor (Kulkarni, 1952)

Image contributors to this species:

Pradeep Kumkar (1)

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Relevant Information:

Pachypterus (Neotropius) khavalchor was described by Kulkarni (1952) from Krishna River, near Islampur, Satara District and Panchaganga River, near Kolhapur, Maharashtra India. There is no information about the population status of Pachypterus khavalchor, however, the species is very rare (Jayaram 1995, Menon 1999, 2004, Jadhav et al. 2011). The area where Pachypterus khavalchor is found is affected by several threats including urbanization, industrial developments, mining activities and introduced species. Menon (1999) has suggested that as any small change in the quality of water in the upper reaches of the Krishna river system would have adverse effects on the quality of the water downstream which may result in the loss of N. khavalchor IUCN 2011). Habitat: It is found in slow moving turbid streams (Menon 1999, 2004). Colouration: Silvery grey above, pale below. A dark blotch on the occiput and caudal base may be present. Diet: It is a lepidophagous (scale eating) species (Kulkarni 1952). Etymology: Genus name: Pachys, thick; pterus, fin, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to “considerably more lengthened” tail and/or long anal fin [often referred to as Neotropius Kulkarni 1952, a junior synonym]. Specific name: khavalchor: Local name of Kolhapur, Maharashtra State, India, type locality. Remarks: Listed in Fishbase as still in the Schilbeidae family but in the Catalog of Fishes the current status is the family Horabagride.

Common Name:

Khavalchor catfish

Synonyms:

Neotropius khavalchor

Family:

Horabagridae

Distribution:

Asia: Krishna river system in Maharashtra and middle Pennar River in Andhra Pradesh, India.Type Locality: Panchaganga River, near Kolhapur, Bombay State, India.

Size:

15.0cm. T.L. (6ins)

Temp:

18-28°C (63-83°F)

p.H.

6.5-7.5.

IUCN Red List

Neotropius (Pachypterus) khavalchor is a very rare and poorly known fish. The widespread area where the species is found is affected by several threats including urbanisation, industrial developments, mining activities and introduced species. However the impact on populations of the species is not known. It may exist as several fragmented populations, but this is not certain. In view of the lack of substantive information about this species it is considered to be Data Deficient. (needs updating IUCN 2011).

Reference:

Dahanukar, N. 2011. Neotropius khavalchor. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011.
Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2019. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, ( 05/2019 ).
Jayaram, KC. 2006. Catfishes of India. Narendra Publishing House, Delhi.

Family: Horabagridae Back to Ident-A-Cat Click on Thumbnails

Pachypterus khavalchor
Panchaganga River Maharashtra, India

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