Garra hughi

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

View Printer Friendly

Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	ACTINOPTERYGII	CYPRINIFORMES	CYPRINIDAE

Scientific Name:

Garra hughi

Species Authority:

Silas, 1955

Common Name/s:

English

–

Cardamon Garra

Taxonomic Notes:

Garra hughi was described by Silas (1955) from streams in the Lower Vauguvarrai Estate in the High Ranges of Travancore, Kerala, India.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Endangered B2ab(iii) ver 3.1

Year Published:

2011

Assessor/s:

Ali, A.

Reviewer/s:

Rema Devi, K.R., Raghavan, R., Dahanukar, N. & Molur, S.

Contributor/s:

Molur, S., Rema Devi, K.R. & Bogutskaya, N.

Justification:
Garra hughi has been assessed as Endangered since it has a restricted distribution in the Anamalai, Cardamom, Palani and Ashambu Hills of Western Ghats, with an area of occupancy of less than 300 km² and restricted to five locations, where there is an on going decline in the quality of habitats due to pollution from tea, coffee and cardamom plantations.

History:

2009	–	Endangered
2007	–	Endangered (IUCN 2009.2)

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Garra hughi is endemic to the southern Western Ghats where it is known from the Cardamom, Palani and Anamalai Hills (Jayaram 1999). It has been recorded from the Rivers Pambar, Periyar (Thomas 2004, Kurup et al. 2004) Neyyar and Vamanapuram (Abraham et al. 2010) as well as from the drainages inside the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary (Remadevi et al. 2005).
Countries:	Native: India (Kerala, Tamil Nadu)
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	There is no information on the population of G. hughi.
Population Trend:	Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	G. hughi is a benthopelagic fish, found in mountain streams.The young are free swimmers and are found in the more clean waters closer to the banks and in pools and puddles along the course of the stream. The food of young is different from the adult stage. The young, at 15–35 mm standard length (SL), are omnivorous including earthworms, aquatic insects, mostly larvae of chironomids and ephemeropterans and bits of filamentous algae and detritus in their diet. The fish later takes to feeding on vegetable matter (mainly algae) with a change in its mode of living, to life close to the substratum of the rapid waters of the streams (Silas 1955).
Systems:	Freshwater

Habitat and Ecology:

G. hughi is a benthopelagic fish, found in mountain streams.The young are free swimmers and are found in the more clean waters closer to the banks and in pools and puddles along the course of the stream. The food of young is different from the adult stage. The young, at 15–35 mm standard length (SL), are omnivorous including earthworms, aquatic insects, mostly larvae of chironomids and ephemeropterans and bits of filamentous algae and detritus in their diet. The fish later takes to feeding on vegetable matter (mainly algae) with a change in its mode of living, to life close to the substratum of the rapid waters of the streams (Silas 1955).

Systems:

Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	The Cardamom, Palani, Anamalai and Ashambu hills, where G. hughi is known to occur is under threat from a variety of stressors including habitat loss due to plantations, pollution and destructive fishing practices (R. Raghavan and A. Ali pers. obs.).

Major Threat(s):

The Cardamom, Palani, Anamalai and Ashambu hills, where G. hughi is known to occur is under threat from a variety of stressors including habitat loss due to plantations, pollution and destructive fishing practices (R. Raghavan and A. Ali pers. obs.).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	The habitats of G. hughi are mostly inside protected areas such as the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary, Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Eravikulam National Park and Chinnar Wildllife Sanctuary. Hence there is some degree of protection to this species. However, in the absence of information on population, and on-going threats from pollution and unintentional fishing, there is a need for studies on the demography and population ecology of this species.

Conservation Actions:

The habitats of G. hughi are mostly inside protected areas such as the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary, Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Eravikulam National Park and Chinnar Wildllife Sanctuary. Hence there is some degree of protection to this species. However, in the absence of information on population, and on-going threats from pollution and unintentional fishing, there is a need for studies on the demography and population ecology of this species.

Citation:	Ali, A. 2011. Garra hughi. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 23 May 2013.
Disclaimer:	To make use of this information, please check the <Terms of Use>.
Feedback:	If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown on this page, please fill in the feedback form so that we can correct or extend the information provided