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Multiple anomalies in wild-caught fish species Curmuca barb Hypselobarbus curmuca (Hamilton 1807) (Cyprinidae: Cypriniformes) from the Western Ghats of India

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Abstract

Fish of the genus Hypselobarbus (Bleeker 1860) are widely dispersed in the rivers of the Western Ghats in India and endemic to southern Indian peninsular freshwaters. These are small- to medium-sized fishes of the family Cyprinidae. Although fish with deformed bodies or body parts are rare in natural waters, this article deals with four abnormal specimens of Hypselobarbus curmuca (Hamilton 1807) collected from the rivers Tunga, Bhadra, and Kali during 2022. The abnormalities observed in four different individuals are pughead deformity, pelvic fin deformity, pectoral fin deformity, and enlarged scales. The morphological comparison of normal individuals of Hypselobarbus curmuca (Hamilton 1807) with abnormal specimens revealed variation. Using the MT-COI gene, species identity was confirmed and the mean genetic divergence between the normal and abnormal specimens was estimated to be less than 1%.

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Acknowledgements

TMJ is thankful to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research for financial support in the form of a fellowship. All authors acknowledge the Director, ICAR–Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai, for encouragement. TMJ is thankful to H. Sanath Kumar for help in lab work and Ashwin Rai and Ronald KP D’Souza for identification of specimens. All authors are grateful to the fisherfolk who assisted in collecting the specimens.

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from any funding agencies from public or private sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICAR–Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Versova, Mumbai, 400061, India

    T M Jeevan, Dayal Devadas & A K Jaiswar

Authors
  1. T M Jeevan
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  2. Dayal Devadas
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  3. A K Jaiswar
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Contributions

TMJ: conceptualization, laboratory works, field sampling sand methodology; TMJ and DD: analysis and investigation; TMJ, DD, and AKJ: original draft preparation; AKJ: supervision and guidance.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A K Jaiswar.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethics statement

No separate approval of ethical committee is required as the fish samples for the study were collected from fish landing centres where commercial catches are landed.

Additional information

Corresponding editor: B Senthilkumaran

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Jeevan, T.M., Devadas, D. & Jaiswar, A.K. Multiple anomalies in wild-caught fish species Curmuca barb Hypselobarbus curmuca (Hamilton 1807) (Cyprinidae: Cypriniformes) from the Western Ghats of India. J Biosci 49, 51 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12038-024-00419-w

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