Abstract
External morphology of teleost brain is organized in such a way that it reflects the correlation between sensory adaptation and principal modes of activity very clearly. Channa gachua, Garra annandelei and Heteropneustes fossilis are among the 168 fresh water fishes recorded in Nepal. While examining the gut contents of these fishes, it was found that C. gachua fed primarily on insects, G. annandelei fed mainly on filamentous algae whereas H. fossilis fed both on plants and animals. Their brain morphology revealed that olfaction in C. gachua was stronger than in G. annandelei and H. fossilis. Similarly, optic sense was also more powerful in C. gachua than in G. annandelei and in H. fossilis. On the contrary, cerebellum of H. fossilis was more developed than that of G. annandelei and C. gachua. These morphological differences of brain could be undoubtedly correlated with the carnivorous, herbivorous and omnivorous feeding behaviour of C. gachua, G. annandelei and H. fossilis respectively. Moreover, in all three fishes, around 20% of the total gut content was made of mud and sand, and they all had inferior mouths, indicating that they were bottom feeders.Int J Appl Sci Biotechnol, Vol 4(1): 79-81
Highlights
Many studies have indicated that by examining external morphology, it is possible to infer the feeding behaviour of a teleost fish
C. gachua, locally known as Hile inhabits the swampy banks of river and is present in most wetlands of Nepal (Chaudhry, 2010), G. annandelei, locally known as Buduna inhabits swift and clear mountain streams with rock and boulders, while H. fossilis, locally known as Singhe is primarily a fish of ponds, ditches, swamps and marshes (Rayamajhi & Jha, 2010)
In C. gachua, olfactory lobes were well developed, whereas in both G. annandelei and H. fossilis, these lobes were modified into long olfactory tracts having olfactory bulbs at their anterior ends
Summary
Many studies have indicated that by examining external morphology, it is possible to infer the feeding behaviour of a teleost fish. All three species of these teleosts are bottom dwellers inhabiting almost similar aqueous environments, C. gachua is carnivorous, G. annandelei is herbivorous and H. fossilis is omnivorous. The strong relationships between the development of sensory brain areas and feeding strategies of fishes have been shown by different workers (Khanna & Singh, 1966, Davis & Miller, 1967; Huber et al, 1997; Shreekala et al, 2011; Atta, 2013).
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