Amazonian Catfish found in Ganga, near Varanasi
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Varanasi, Oct 2 : A fish recognized as Sucker Mouth Catfish, dominantly found in the Amazon river in South America, has been seen in river Ganga. The scientists of Banaras Hindu University ( BHU ) have revealed the information and stated that the fish has not been observed in the river before and its presence can possess threat to the existing Gangetic ecosystem.
The surprising discovery of the fish has become troublesome for the scientists since the question of how it came here is yet answered. The fish is not found anywhere in entire South Asia. Hence existence of the catfish thousands of kilometers away from where it is originally found, in South American Amazon river, is making the scientists scratch their heads.
It is also being strongly speculated by the Scientists that the fish can prove to be a potential threat to the Gangetic ecosystem. The reason for this is that the sucker catfish is a carnivorous fish, which creates threat for other fishes. The river is home to other small catfishes and there are carnivorous fishes found in the river already. However, since all these years a compatibility has been shared among all these marine species to create the ecosystem of river Ganga. The Amazonian Sucker Catfish is a dominant species and thus its presence is believed to hinder the frequency of other marine species which is a concerning revelation.
ALARMING! Recently a #SuckerMouth_Catfish is caught by the fishermen in #Ganges, 2nd of it's kind within a month. This #invasive fish is native to #Amazon, #America. If it multiplies, can pose serious threat to d other #wildlife of Ganges, & gradually spread in d country. #wild pic.twitter.com/SMnRYtVSQ6
— Punam Kerketta (@kerketta_punam) September 29, 2020
However, this is not the first incident of discovering the species in Indian river as it was few years back it was spotted in Ganga, Bihar and Brahmaputra, Assam. In this same year, it was first spotted in Manipur as well before it was at Varanasi. This is a clear indication of the alarming rate at which the presence of the species is increasing Indian land, after Amazon rainforest. The flooding of both the rivers makes it easy favorable for the fish to spread over a vast area during monsoon. This has opened sources for further environmental research about many aspects associated with the presence of the Sucker Mouth Catfish.