Thebinni(Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi) is aspeciesofcyprinidfishendemicto theTigris–Euphrates Basinin theMiddle East.[2]This fish mostly inhabits lakes and marshes, especially in densely vegetated places where it also lays its eggs, but periodically it moves into rivers.[1][3]Thisbarbelis the only member in itsgenus,but was included in the "wastebasket genus"Barbusby earlier authors. It has declined in recent times due tohabitat lossandoverfishing.[1]
| Binni | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Cyprinidae |
| Subfamily: | Barbinae |
| Genus: | Mesopotamichthys M. S. Karaman(sr), 1971 |
| Species: | M. sharpeyi
|
| Binomial name | |
| Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi (Günther,1874)
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Barbus sharpeyi | |
The binni is an elongate fish but is deep-bodied for a barbel. It is overall brownish–golden with a lighter belly and darker fins.[3]It can reach up to 56 cm (22 in) in total length,[1]and 4 kg (8.8 lb) in weight.[3]The sexes are similar, but females reach a larger size. The sex ratio tends to be skewed with more males than females.[3]Maturity is reached when the species is two to four years old, and the species can reach an age of up to nine years.[3]It feeds almost entirely on plants, ranging fromphytoplanktonandalgaetohigher plants.Although the remains of tiny animals have been found in their stomachs, these are probably ingested by mistake when feeding on plants.[3]
Known in the localIraqi Arabicdialect asbinniorbunni,this fish is valued highly by theMarsh Arabs.Their fishermen traditionally employ an unusual technique ofspearfishingfrom a line of boats or poison-fishing with flour or dung laced with toxicDigitalisorDatura;until recently net-fishing was mostly restricted to the Berbera tribe and held in low esteem. Since the 1960s however, large-scale fisheries have also been developed; once of prime importance throughout Iraq, the marshland fish stocks presumably declined notably following thedraining of the Mesopotamian Marshes.[4][5][6]
Umm al Binni LakeinMaysan Governorate,Iraq, was named after this species. Now mostly dried-up following the draining of theCentral Marshes,its name attests to the former abundance of this fish and possible use as spawning ground (Ummis Arabic for "mother", but does not necessarily imply procreation). The lake is of interest as a possibleimpact cratermentioned in theEpic of Gilgamesh.
References
edit- ^abcdFreyhof, J. (2014)."Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi".IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.2014:e.T19383657A19849450.doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T19383657A19849450.en.Retrieved12 November2021.
- ^Froese, Rainer;Pauly, Daniel (eds.)."Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi".FishBase.October 2019 version.
- ^abcdefCoad, B.W. (14 November 2016)."Cyprinidae: Garra to Vimba".Freshwater Fishes of Iran.Archived fromthe originalon 8 January 2019.Retrieved29 October2019.
- ^Wilfred Thesiger,The Marsh Arabs,Penguin, 1967, p.92
- ^USAIDArchived2014-11-11 at theWayback Machine,iraqmarshes.org
- ^Moss, B.R. (2018).Ecology of Freshwaters: Earth's Bloodstream(5 ed.). Wiley. p. 210.ISBN9781119239437.