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Finally managed to take some decent pictures to compare M.bleekeri from north and south India.
West Bengal
Madras
The two specimens.
West Bengal specimen.
Madras specimen.
The indentation on the fontanel is present on both specimens but the supraoccipital seems different???
I could count 13-14 pectoral serrations and 9 pectoral fin rays.
The count seems to be the same here.
What do you think???
I will also try to obtain some specimens from the Krishna Drainage soon.
Balaji
Vicar: It's about this letter you sent me regarding my insurance claim.
Devious: Oh, yeah, well, you see, it's just that we're not, as yet, totally satisfied with the grounds of your claim.
Vicar: But it says something about filling my mouth in with cement.
Devious: Oh well, that's just insurance jargon, you know.
They are not both bleekeri IMO. The one from West Bengal fits better with bleekeri in terms of locality but also the fontanel etc. The one from Madras is unlikely to be bleekeri. Doesnt match keletius either.
What differences do you see between the 'true' M.bleekeri and the West Bengal specimen I have posted here???
I did have a weird theory about M.keletius. Pondycherry, as a Union Territory, is actually made up of small territories in Tamil Nadu,Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. I was thinking when Pondycherry was mentioned as the type locality of M.keletius, it could be the territory in Kerala (Mahe) thereby meaning M.keletius is a west coast fish. But these territories were merged together as Pondycherry long after M.keletius was described.
Balaji
Vicar: It's about this letter you sent me regarding my insurance claim.
Devious: Oh, yeah, well, you see, it's just that we're not, as yet, totally satisfied with the grounds of your claim.
Vicar: But it says something about filling my mouth in with cement.
Devious: Oh well, that's just insurance jargon, you know.
I'm not saying the West Bengal isn't the true bleekeri, just that the Madras one certainly isn't IMO. The West Bengal one has the correct fontanel etc when compared with the Lectotype.
Isn't the Madras one showing some signs of a tympanic spot and the body lines and caudal spot? Sometimes the intensity of the spot/lines in living individuals fades depending on mood, conditions etc? Is the Madras one closer to montanus anyway?
The.Dark.One wrote:I'm not saying the West Bengal isn't the true bleekeri, just that the Madras one certainly isn't IMO. The West Bengal one has the correct fontanel etc when compared with the Lectotype.
Ah, ok. I misunderstood your statement.
Picture Credit : Marcus Knight
A Madras specimen showing the tympanic spot. My specimen lost it because of stress. Are there any differences I missed out???
Balaji
Vicar: It's about this letter you sent me regarding my insurance claim.
Devious: Oh, yeah, well, you see, it's just that we're not, as yet, totally satisfied with the grounds of your claim.
Vicar: But it says something about filling my mouth in with cement.
Devious: Oh well, that's just insurance jargon, you know.
Vicar: It's about this letter you sent me regarding my insurance claim.
Devious: Oh, yeah, well, you see, it's just that we're not, as yet, totally satisfied with the grounds of your claim.
Vicar: But it says something about filling my mouth in with cement.
Devious: Oh well, that's just insurance jargon, you know.
I have requested him to take a few detailed pictures to compare with the Bengal and Madras specimens. Will post them here once I get them.
Balaji
Vicar: It's about this letter you sent me regarding my insurance claim.
Devious: Oh, yeah, well, you see, it's just that we're not, as yet, totally satisfied with the grounds of your claim.
Vicar: But it says something about filling my mouth in with cement.
Devious: Oh well, that's just insurance jargon, you know.
Vicar: It's about this letter you sent me regarding my insurance claim.
Devious: Oh, yeah, well, you see, it's just that we're not, as yet, totally satisfied with the grounds of your claim.
Vicar: But it says something about filling my mouth in with cement.
Devious: Oh well, that's just insurance jargon, you know.
Mystus bleekeri is turning out to be a bigger complex of variants/species than I imagined.
Just got back home from a collection / much needed leisure trip in the Eastern Ghats. I had hoped to collect Mystus from this region as I have seen them here before. With a bit of help from a few unsuspecting friends, I managed to collect around a dozen juvenile specimens.Once the fish are settled, I will take pictures and post them up here.
Balaji
Vicar: It's about this letter you sent me regarding my insurance claim.
Devious: Oh, yeah, well, you see, it's just that we're not, as yet, totally satisfied with the grounds of your claim.
Vicar: But it says something about filling my mouth in with cement.
Devious: Oh well, that's just insurance jargon, you know.
I had been wanting to collect in the Amirthi River (Eastern Ghats) again as one of the Mystus specimens I have presently was collected from there. I was hoping it would be this one :
I haven't been able to assign a collection locality to this specimen as yet.
I did end up collecting a few juvenile Mystus specimens that do look close to this species but I have a feeling I these are M.vittatus .
What do you think???
Balaji
Vicar: It's about this letter you sent me regarding my insurance claim.
Devious: Oh, yeah, well, you see, it's just that we're not, as yet, totally satisfied with the grounds of your claim.
Vicar: But it says something about filling my mouth in with cement.
Devious: Oh well, that's just insurance jargon, you know.
Yes, the shape and size do look different from M.vittatus.
Mystus vittatus - Pondycherry
Hopefully, this means another Mystus gets a collection locality and hence, a name. They will need to double in size to be of use, working on that now.
Balaji
Vicar: It's about this letter you sent me regarding my insurance claim.
Devious: Oh, yeah, well, you see, it's just that we're not, as yet, totally satisfied with the grounds of your claim.
Vicar: But it says something about filling my mouth in with cement.
Devious: Oh well, that's just insurance jargon, you know.
As in the unknown Mystus and the juvenile Mystus collected recently???
Balaji
Vicar: It's about this letter you sent me regarding my insurance claim.
Devious: Oh, yeah, well, you see, it's just that we're not, as yet, totally satisfied with the grounds of your claim.
Vicar: But it says something about filling my mouth in with cement.
Devious: Oh well, that's just insurance jargon, you know.
the juvenile Mystus might be the same as vittatus. In juvenile live specimens the fontanel will sometimes look different to adults. When they have grown and eventually when preserved they need to be cross referenced with vittatus. It will be easier to compare then
I have four M.cavasius and a lone M.seengtee. Thought I could show the differences between the two species. The first specimen is seengtee in both images.
Dorsal fin comparison.
Predorsal profile comparison.
Balaji
Vicar: It's about this letter you sent me regarding my insurance claim.
Devious: Oh, yeah, well, you see, it's just that we're not, as yet, totally satisfied with the grounds of your claim.
Vicar: But it says something about filling my mouth in with cement.
Devious: Oh well, that's just insurance jargon, you know.
Mystus cf. bleekeri from north western Karnataka (Kali River Drainage). I will have to wait and see what this specimen grows out into (it is around 1.5 inches TL presently).
Balaji
Vicar: It's about this letter you sent me regarding my insurance claim.
Devious: Oh, yeah, well, you see, it's just that we're not, as yet, totally satisfied with the grounds of your claim.
Vicar: But it says something about filling my mouth in with cement.
Devious: Oh well, that's just insurance jargon, you know.
Vicar: It's about this letter you sent me regarding my insurance claim.
Devious: Oh, yeah, well, you see, it's just that we're not, as yet, totally satisfied with the grounds of your claim.
Vicar: But it says something about filling my mouth in with cement.
Devious: Oh well, that's just insurance jargon, you know.
Specimens from the Ganges drainage in Roorke, Uttarakhand. The largest Mystus cavasius I have seen so far.
Balaji
Vicar: It's about this letter you sent me regarding my insurance claim.
Devious: Oh, yeah, well, you see, it's just that we're not, as yet, totally satisfied with the grounds of your claim.
Vicar: But it says something about filling my mouth in with cement.
Devious: Oh well, that's just insurance jargon, you know.
What do you think HH? Doesn't look like any of the described species does it?
Balaji
Vicar: It's about this letter you sent me regarding my insurance claim.
Devious: Oh, yeah, well, you see, it's just that we're not, as yet, totally satisfied with the grounds of your claim.
Vicar: But it says something about filling my mouth in with cement.
Devious: Oh well, that's just insurance jargon, you know.
I guess it is finally time for me to bite the bullet and read through Plamoottil's papers.
Balaji
Vicar: It's about this letter you sent me regarding my insurance claim.
Devious: Oh, yeah, well, you see, it's just that we're not, as yet, totally satisfied with the grounds of your claim.
Vicar: But it says something about filling my mouth in with cement.
Devious: Oh well, that's just insurance jargon, you know.
