Puntius chola (Hamilton, 1822)
Swamp barb
Puntius chola
photo by Jayasinghe, A.

Family:  Cyprinidae (Minnows or carps), subfamily: Smiliogastrinae
Max. size:  15 cm TL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  benthopelagic; freshwater; pH range: 6 - 6.5; dH range: 8 - 15, potamodromous
Distribution:  Asia: Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar (Ref. 41236). Reported from Bhutan (Ref. 40882).
Diagnosis:  Dorsal soft rays (total): 11-11; Anal soft rays: 8-8. Body deep and compressed; single maxillary pair of barbels present; last simple dorsal ray moderately strong and smooth; lateral line complete with 24-28 scales; scales from dorsal fin origin to lateral line 6 and those from lateral line to pelvic fin origin 4; predorsal scales 11, circumpeduncular scales 14, pre-pelvic scales 11, pre-anal scales 19 (Ref. 57399).
Biology:  Inhabits streams, rivers, canals, beels, haors, ponds and inundated fields. Occurs mainly in shallow water (Ref. 6028). Feeds on worms, crustaceans, insects and plant matter (Ref. 7020).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 20 March 2010 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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