Turkestan Catfish
Status: 2 [VU: E]. The only representative of the genus in Kyrgyzstan.
Brief description of the adult form. A narrowly specialized mountain and foothill form [10]. A small fish, females reach a length of 15 cm, males - 24-25 cm. Scales are absent, with dark spots on the brownish-green body and fins. The head is flattened with four pairs of whiskers. There is a long adipose fin, separated from the dorsal fin by a small gap. The pectoral fins form a kind of suction cup.
General distribution and in the country. Basins of the Naryn, Kara-Darya, Chatkal [I0], Kara-Suu, Jumgal, Suusamyr, At-Bashi rivers, and the Ak-Buura river near Osh. Quite numerous in the Naryn river below Uch-Kurgan, below Uzgen. Water bodies of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan.
Habitat. Mountain and foothill rivers of Central Asia, areas with rocky substrate. Abundance: from one to four individuals per meter of river.
Life style (life cycles). Lying under stones, it feeds on small insect larvae, occasionally swallowing minnows. Spawns in June, with large eggs - 2.7 mm. Does not form large aggregations. Young feed on chironomid larvae, mayflies, and other insects [10].
Limiting factors. Soil movement in the riverbed, water pollution, amateur fishing, predation on juveniles by beetle larvae.
Breeding (keeping in captivity). Not conducted.
Existing conservation measures. The species was included in the Red Book of the Kyrgyz SSR in 1985 [4].
Recommended conservation measures. Prohibition of fishing, protection of spawning and aggregation sites. Establishing population numbers to clarify status, organizing micro-reserves.
Turkestan Zhayany, Zhayany Fish, Lakka
Turkestan Catfish
Glyptosternum reticulatum McClelland
Status: Category 2 [VU: E], mosaic-distributed stenoic Central-Asian montane endemic species; only one representative of the family in the fauna of the country. The specific areas include Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Northern India. In Kyrgyzstan, it populates mountains and foothill parts of the Chatkal, Ak-Buura, Kara-Darya, Naryn, Kara-Suu, Kokomeren, Jumgal, and At-Bashi Rivers, with shifting flow and stony grounds; active at night. This is a small bottom-living fish (male body length of up to 25 cm, and female - up to 15 cm) with pectoral fins specialized for stone-sucking. No value for fishery. Spawning period is June, fertility is 120-180 (2.7 mm in diameter) eggs. The species feeds on the larvae of water insects, rarely caught minnows. Stock in Kyrgyzstan achieves 1-4 individuals per linear meter. Limiting factors: instability of river grounds, water pollution, destruction of the natural regime of river flows as a result of hydro-building, amateur fishing. The species is unknown in captivity in Kyrgyzstan; included in the Red Book of the Kyrgyz SSR in 1985. To conserve the species, it is essential to prohibit amateur fishing, protect sites of spawning and feeding, and specify the abundance. ```
