Nena Singha

The African carp fish may usually be used as a common name for many other genera of fish belonging to the carp family.

However, we are specifically going to focus on the Tana labeo, or Labeo mesops, a species of ray-finned fish from the family of Cyprinidae. The fish is native to southern Africa and prefers to live in rivers, like the Cross River, and freshwater lakes.

Due to the high rates of overfishing and loss of habitats, the fish faces critical danger to its existence and has been seen depleting according to recent data.

It belongs to the class of Actinopterygii or ray-finned fishes, and derives its name from the Latin word, 'labeo', which stands for 'the one who has large lips', also from the Greek word, 'mesops', meaning 'middle and half', and finally the word 'opsis', meaning 'for sight', overall the name refers to a state of the material the fish is made up of.

It is a freshwater species, found foraging for food in the bottom, and is widely spread throughout southern Africa.

It is a small fish and is usually bred for its commercial, aquaculture, and experimental use, seen around aquariums and similar spaces.

If you love reading about fishes then check out our codfish facts andsuckerfish facts. 

The marbled duck (Marmaronetta angustirostris), or marbled teal, is an elegantly colored medium-sized waterfowl with a gray-white texture and a sandy-brown body. These ducks have large heads and a light eye patch that sets them apart from other species of ducks.

They are a unique species from southern Spain, Turkey, Armenia, Northwest Africa, Greece, India, Western China, and they are even found in Britain.

Marbled teals (Marmaronetta angustirostris) have been termed as escaped captive birds from sites in southern Spain that were formerly bred in large numbers in the Mediterranean region basin. They love marshlands, shallow freshwaters, and brackish waters which is why they are found in abundance in these areas.

Their choice of breeding ground is usually lowlands where they lay their eggs in long grasses or high trees. They are nervous and flighty birds that are gregarious in nature and quite loud during the mating season.

They feed in shallow water by dabbling their head for food. Their diet includes aquatic crustaceans as well as plants. Their scientific name is derived from the Greek word 'marmaros', meaning marbled, and 'netta', for a duck.

The Latin word 'augustus', means narrow and small whereas 'rostris', means billed. The ducks are vulnerable due to habitat loss.

If you love learning about new species then we suggest you go check out our harlequin duck facts and Muscovy duck facts pages for more similar content.

The marble goby (Oxyeleotris marmorata) is a fish from the family of Butidae, distributed almost in every region of Southeast Asia. The fish is locally known as 'Pa bu', in the local dialect of Laos, and is very popular. It is carnivorous and is a bottom feeder that prefers to stay in freshwater rivers, brackish rivers, rocks, or plants. 

The marble goby is culturally very popular in the southeast where they have a lot of cultural importance and are usually seen as a form of wealth. It is eaten in a variety of dishes in Thailand, Malaysia, and other countries for its clean white meat and is usually priced high.

People raise these fish at home in cement tanks, aquariums, and ponds. Aquaculture is in high demand for foods where fish is seen as a good source of income for the coming future.

If you love reading about new species then check out our catfish facts and rainbow trout facts pages for more similar content. 

The Malabar pied hornbill (Anthracoceros coronatus), also known by the name of the lesser-pied hornbill, is a type of bird from the family of hornbills. The bird belongs to the Old World species.

The Malabar-pied hornbill was first described in the year 1780 by the French polymath, Georges-Louis LeClerc, Comte de Buffon in his book. It was also illustrated in many other records by several naturalists and bird-enthusiasts.

The species is monotypic in nature whose generic name is made up of the ancient Greek word 'anthrax', meaning coal-black, and 'keros', which stands for horn. The specific epithet 'coronatus' is a Latin word, meaning crown.

The bird is a large bird that can grow up to a length of 26 in (65 cm), mainly consisting of black feathers on its belly, throat, and tail apart from its white abdomen. The other most distinct feature of the bird is its large bill is yellow with an extra black casque just above it.

Females have a white orbital coat. The bird is typically found in the Indian subcontinent along with Sri Lanka in the evergreen forest habitats of the region and also near human settlements.

The birds are omnivorous in nature and eat a variety of things from fruits to small mammals and even insects.

They are very fond of figs and are frequently spotted in the Karwar region. According to the central tribal people of India, hanging the skull of the Malabar-pied hornbill brings wealth, due to which the bird has been hunted for centuries.

Do check out our rhinoceros hornbill facts and great hornbill facts pages for more similar content.