Catla

{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{For|other fishes known as Indian and Bangladeshi carp|Indian carp (disambiguation){{!}}Indian carp}} {{Speciesbox | image = Catla catla.JPG | image_caption = Young catla | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{Cite iucn | author = Tenzin, K. |access-date=6 December 2023| title = ''Gibelion catla'' | year = 2010 | article-number = e.T166425A6206451 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T166425A6206451.en}}</ref> | taxon = Labeo catla | display_parents = 3 | authority = (F. Hamilton, 1822) | synonyms = *''Cyprinus catla'' Hamilton, 1822 *''Catla catla'' (Hamilton, 1822) *''Leuciscus catla'' (Hamilton, 1822) *''Cyprinus abramioides'' Sykes, 1839 *''Hypselobarbus abramioides'' (Sykes, 1839) *''Catla buchanani'' Valenciennes, 1844 *''Gibelion catla'' (Hamilton 1822) }}

'''Catla''' ('''''Labeo catla'''''; {{langx|bn|কাতলা|translit=kātlā}}) also known as the major South Asian carp, is an economically important South Asian freshwater fish in the carp family Cyprinidae. It is native to rivers and lakes in northern India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan, but has also been introduced elsewhere in South Asia and is commonly farmed.<ref name=IUCN/><ref name=fishbase>{{FishBase | genus = Gibelion | species = catla | month = September| year = 2017}}</ref>

In Nepal and neighbouring regions of India, up to Odisha, it is called ''bhakura''.

Catla is a fish with large and broad head, a large protruding lower jaw, and upturned mouth. It has large, greyish scales on its dorsal side with a whitish belly. It reaches up to {{convert|182|cm|ft|abbr=on|1}} in length and {{cvt|38.6|kg|lb}} in weight.<ref name=fishbase/>

Catla is a surface and midwater feeder. Adults feed on zooplankton using large gill rakers, while young ones feed on both zooplankton and phytoplankton. Catla attains sexual maturity at an average age of two years and an average weight of {{cvt|2|kg}}.

==Taxonomy== thumb|left The catla was formerly listed as the only species in the genus ''Catla'', but this was a synonym of the genus ''Gibelion''.<ref name=IUCN/><ref name=fishbase/> More recently, Catalog of Fishes has moved this species to ''Labeo''.<ref name=COF>Eschmeyer W (2014) [http://research.calacademy.org/redirect?url=http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatget.asp&tbl=species&spid=3130 Cyprinus catla] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810051503/http://research.calacademy.org/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fresearcharchive.calacademy.org%2Fresearch%2Fichthyology%2Fcatalog%2Ffishcatget.asp&tbl=species&spid=3130 |date=2014-08-10 }} CAS Catalog of Fishes</ref> This species has often been confused with the giant barb (''Catlocarpio siamensis'') of south-east Asia as the two taxa bear an extraordinary resemblance to each other, especially in their very large heads.<ref name = IUCN/>

==Aquaculture== [[File:Catla, aquaculture production, million tonnes, 1950-2022.svg|thumb|Global aquaculture production of Catla (''Gibelion catla'') in million tonnes from 1950 to 2022, as reported by the FAO<ref>FAO. 2024. Global Production. In: ''Fisheries and Aquaculture''. Published March 29th, 2024. https://www.fao.org/fishery/en/collection/global_production?lang=en</ref>]] The catla is one of the most important aquacultured freshwater species in South Asia.<ref name="FAO">Food and Aquaculture Organization of the United Nations, Cultured Aquatic Species Information Programme: Catla catla (Hamilton, 1822) http://www.fao.org/fishery/culturedspecies/Catla_catla/en</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=de Graaf|first1=Gertjan|last2=Latif|first2=Abdul|title=Development of freshwater fish farming and poverty alleviation: A case study from Bangladesh|url=http://www.nefisco.org/downloads/DevelopmentOfFreshwaterFishFarming.pdf|journal=Aquaculture Asia|volume=7|issue=2|year=2002|pages=5–7|access-date=6 December 2023|s2cid=147703125|via=Nefisco Foundation|archive-date=18 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318040021/http://www.nefisco.org/downloads/DevelopmentOfFreshwaterFishFarming.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is grown in polyculture ponds with other carp-like fish, particularly with the roho labeo (''Labeo rohita'') and mrigal carp. The reported production numbers have increased sharply during the 2000s, and were in 2012 about 2.8 million tonnes per year.<ref name="FAO" />

Catla is sold and consumed fresh, locally and regionally. It is transported on ice. Fish of {{cvt|1–2|kg}} weight are preferred by consumers.<ref name="FAO" />

The Catla fish (also known as Indian carp in Vietnam) was first successfully artificially bred in Vietnam in 1986. This research was conducted by Mr. Trịnh Quốc Khánh, a Bachelor of Biology and former Deputy Director of the Mekong Delta Aquaculture Research Center under the Research Institute for Aquaculture No. 2 (Ministry of Fisheries). He was the primary person responsible for this study. Thanks to the artificial fertilization method and the efforts of Vietnamese researchers, this study was successfully implemented.

==References== {{Reflist}}

== Further reading == * {{cite web |title=''Catla catla'' |url=http://en.bdfish.org/2010/02/catla-catla-catla-hamilton-1822 |website=BdFISH|date=20 February 2010 }} * {{cite journal |last1=Menon |first1=A.G.K. |year=1999 |title=Check list - fresh water fishes of India |journal=Rec. Zool. Surv. India, Misc. Publ., Occas. Pap. |issue=175 |page=366 |isbn=978-81-85874-15-9}}

Category:Fish described in 1822 Category:Taxa named by Francis Buchanan-Hamilton Category:Fish of India Category:Labeo Category:Cyprinid fish of Asia Category:Fish farming Category:Fish of Bangladesh