Catfishes of India

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Nearly thirty years ago, 29 years to be exact, a concise systematic account of the Catfishes (order Siluriformes) of the Indian region consisting of India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka was published by the late Dr. K.S. Misra of the Zoological Survey of India in the Fauna of India series. In the intervening years the concept of catfish taxonomy has undergone vast changes. Many new taxa have been described. A new interest in unraveling the intricate phylogeny of the catfishes, especially of the Oriental region has arisen. The US National Science Foundation has sponsored a project “All Catfish Species Inventory” (ACSI) in which many catfish specialists and students all over the world are involved. Many foreign ichthyologists engaged themselves in this study and new areas in Myanmar have been explored resulting in the discovery and description of many new taxa. Some changes in the generic allocations and family make up have also been published. Though India and the adjacent countries are rich in their biodiversity and especially in the faunal constituents unfortunately much remain to be done. This book is the cumulative work of the author who has been studying the siluriformes for over 50 years. All recent findings and theories have been incorporated in this book. It describes in full 197 species of catfishes found in the Indian region, under 52 genera, 13 families. Two new subfamilies have been described. It is almost on the model of Day’s Fish India though the synonymies given are more elaborate and descriptions are with essential data. A uniform pattern of citation is done for easy comparisons; 182 species have been illustrated many in colour which would supplement the descriptions and also serve as an atlas for these fishes. The publication would serve as a contribution to the aforesaid ACSI project so far as the species of Indian region are concerned.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR K C Jayaram

Dr. K.C. Jayaram, former joint director, Zoological Survey of India has been active in freshwater fish taxonomy and Zoogeography since 1947. He has covered many river systems for their fish fauna such as Brahmputra, Cauvery, Krishna and Mahanadi through intensive surveys. His work on the Cauvery fish Fauna is a comprehensive first-time account of the fish fauna of the entire river system. This work served as the basis for an integrated research programme on the same river funded by the ministry of Environment and Forests. Eleven post-graduate colleges and six Universities participated in this three year programme. Dr. Jayaram was the director of this project and results are under publication under his executive editorship. He is a member of many scientific committees and his advice is sought after in biodiversity, river ecology matters specially in respect of the fish fauna. He is a D.Sc. of Madras University and a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, Allahabad, Zoological Society of India, Bhubaneshwar and Madras Science Foundation, Chennai. He was awarded the prestigious Pitambar Pant National Environment Fellowship by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and is currently studying the eco-status of the Deccan Mahseer fishes. He has trained and guided a number of students who occupy important positions. He has to his credit about 120 papers including several monographs published in India and abroad. His earlier book on the same subject was universally acclaimed and ran out of print fast. He is considered on of the leading authorities on the freshwater fish fauna of the Indian region.

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Bibliographic information

Title
Catfishes of India
Author
Edition
1st ed.
Publisher
ISBN
8185375844
Length
xxii+383p., Plates; Figures; Index; 25cm.
Subjects