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Ben Lee (1) Priyankar Chakraborty (4) Beta Mahatvaraj (1) Abkisek Mishra (1)

Description: The new species differs from congeners in having the following unique combination of characters: interorbital distance 30–37% HL; body depth at anus 6–9% SL; length of adipose-fin base 99–16% SL; adipose fin separate from upper principal caudal-fin rays; post-adipose distance 15–18% SL; 17–22 anal-fin rays; caudal peduncle length 14–19% SL; and caudal peduncle depth 6–8% SL. (Ng & Ferraris 2016). In a few publications the genus Olyra has been placed in its own family Olyridae: sub family Olyrinae. The family was erected by Hora in 1936. Mo (1991) revised the Bagridae family and proposed a new classification for Olyra. He classed on a cladistic pattern focusing on osteological characters. On the basis of his cladogram of the Bagridae family it was found the Olyra is deeply nested within other bagrid genera and as such cannot be retained as a separate family. Habitat: From the Brahmaputra River drainage in Bangladesh and northeastern India. Aquarium Care: Will fit into a community tank alongside other Asian fish such as the larger species of Danios and Barbs. It is extremely territorial with its own kind so would need to be given plenty of hiding places to curb this aggression. Provide them with a hillstream habitat with a medium flow and a substrate with pebbles and rocks. They prefer to hide under rocks and crevices so provide them enough hiding spaces. Diet: Most aquarium based foods such as frozen (bloodworms) live and tablet foods. Etymology: The genus name Olyra: etymology not explained, perhaps from Olyra, Greek for a kind of grain (perhaps rye), or Olyra linneaus 1759, a genus of neotropical grasses, perhaps referring to similarity of some Olyra leaves (pointed at one end) to pointed tail of O. longicaudata. The specific name praestigiosa: latin for “full of deceitful tricks,” referring to confusion surrounding its identity (previously identified under three different names).

Chel River Fighting Catfish

None

Bagridae

Asia: India, West Bengal, Darjeeling District, Kalimpong Subdivision, Chel River.

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16-22°C (63-71°F)

6.0-7.0.

Heok Hee Ng and Carl J Jr. Ferraris. 2016. A New Species of Anguilliform Catfish (Actinopterygii: Siluriformes: Bagridae) from Bangladesh and northeastern India. Zootaxa. 4079.3; 388-392.
Meenkaran, pers comm. 2024.
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.
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