Tor remadevii
{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2020}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Orange-finned mahseer
|image = TorRemadeviiAdult.png
|status = CR
|status_system = IUCN3.1
|taxon = Tor remadevii
|authority = Kurup & Radhakrishnan, 2007
}}
Tor remadevii, the orange-finned mahseer, also known as the hump-backed mahseer, is a Critically Endangered species of freshwater fish endemic to the Western Ghats of India.{{Cite iucn|url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/56096394/56717605 |title=Tor remadevii |access-date=2019-01-15}} It is restricted to the Kaveri river basin.
It can be distinguished from other mahseer by the prominent hump originating above the pre-opercle, a distinctive kink in the pre-opercule, a terminal mouth position, and its bright orange caudal fin. It is considered a high-quality game fish, and has been proclaimed by anglers as "the largest and hardest fighting freshwater fish in the world".DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00673
Conservation Issues
Among the reasons for the species' extreme threat status is the introduction of non-native mahseers Tor khudree https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/34337/1/Pinder%20et%20al_JoTT_2020.pdf and Himalayan golden mahseer (Tor putitora) {{cite web | url=https://www.mahseertrust.org/post/tales-from-velimeen-land | title=Tales from Velimeen Land | date=20 August 2021 }} to the wider Kaveri river basin. Also endangering this species is the heavy construction of dams along the Kaveri and tributaries, as well as the use of dynamite fishing.{{Cite news|url=https://researchmatters.in/news/can-its-scientific-name-save-india%E2%80%99s-famed-hump-backed-mahseer|title=Can its scientific name save India's famed hump-backed mahseer?|date=2018-06-22|work=Research Matters|access-date=2018-06-30|language=en}} These and other factors including loss of riparian cover, industrial and urban pollutions, irrigation and abstraction, plus climatic changes in monsoon weather patterns led to a heavy crash in hump-backed mahseer populations around 2004.
Despite this endangered status, the general lack of a formal scientific name had previously hampered efforts to protect the species. However, a 2018 study found that the orange-finned mahseer was in fact conspecific with Tor remadevii, a little-known species identified in 2007 based on 19 individuals {{cite journal | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/289973 | title=Tor Remadevii, A New Species of Tor (Gray) from Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Pambar River, Kerala, Southern India | journal=The Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society | date=23 January 2024 | volume=107 | issue=3 | pages=227––230 | last1=Kurup | first1=B Madhusoodana | last2=Kurup | first2=B. Madhusoodana | last3=Radhakrishnan | first3=K. V. }} sampled from the Pambar River in 2004.{{Cite journal|last1=Pinder|first1=Adrian C.|last2=Manimekalan|first2=Arunachalam|last3=Knight|first3=J. D. Marcus|last4=Krishnankutty|first4=Prasannan|last5=Britton|first5=J. Robert|last6=Philip|first6=Siby|last7=Dahanukar|first7=Neelesh|last8=Raghavan|first8=Rajeev |name-list-style=amp |date=2018-06-20|title=Resolving the taxonomic enigma of the iconic game fish, the hump-backed mahseer from the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, India|journal=PLOS ONE|language=en|volume=13|issue=6|pages=e0199328|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0199328|pmid=29924871|issn=1932-6203|pmc=6010267|doi-access=free|bibcode=2018PLoSO..1399328P }} This has allowed the species as known from historic records across the whole river basin to finally gain a scientific name and an updated Red Listing. These will both be of help for future conservation efforts.
Gallery
File:TorRemadeviiPreserved.png
File:Orange-finned mahseer AJTJ P1010743.jpg
File:TorRemadeviiLarge.png by Martin Clark, 1978|alt=|none]]
