Esomus danricus

Indian Flying Barb
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Genus: Esomus
Species: E. danricus
Binomial name
Esomus danricus
(F. Hamilton, 1822)

Esomus danricus, a Danionin known as the Indian Flying Barb is one of the species known as Flying Barbs owing to their extremely long barbels. Danricus was discovered as long ago as 1822 by Hamilton. However, lacking the spectacular beauty of the Danios it is rarely seen in the aquarist hobby. Endemic in India in the Himalayan foothills, it is found in the same localities as Danio rerio and Danio dangila, an example being the Jorai Rivulet, a tributary of the Sankosh river in Coochbehar district, West Bengal, India. The rare fish Borellius spp. is locally named "Boirali maach".

This fish has an exceptional ability for jumping, hence its name. A tank with a tight fitting lid with no gaps is recommended.

Esomus danricus is a silver fish with a black line on an elongated body and gold fins. Barbels reach almost to the anal fin.

Research in 2001 by Fang Fang suggests that the genus Esomus is the most closely related genus to the Danios, closer even than the Devario genus.

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This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, June 14, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.