Habitat:The specimen pictured was collected in Torsa
River near Cooch Behar town in West Bengal. Batasio
species are small, laterally compressed bagrid catfishes
generally found in fast-flowing hill streams throughout
South Asia, Myanmar, the Salween and Mae Khlong drainages
of Thailand and the northern Malay Peninsula. Description:
They are diagnosed (together with Chandramara)
from other members of the Bagridae in possessing large
sensory pores on the head, a narrow mental region,
the transversely elongated, bar-like entopterygoid,
and the close contact of the metapterygoid with the
quadrate (Mo, 1991). Batasio is distinguished
from Chandramara by the absence (vs. presence)
of a pair of prominent posterior processes on the
anterior part of the vomer. Differs from all other
species in body having four or five saddle shaped
oblique bands. Etymology: The genus
name Batasio:
from the local (Bengali) name of the fish (batasio
or batashi). The
specific name tengana: presumably
local Bengali name for this species in India. Remarks:
Close to B.
batasio but differs
as above.
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