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Semah selubai, Tor tambroides from Merangin, Indonesia |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Cypriniformes |
Family: | Cyprinidae |
Genus: | Tor |
Species: | T. tambroides |
Binomial name | |
Tor tambroides Bleeker, 1854 |
Tor tambroides is a species of mahseer native to Southeast Asia.
These fish have been found throughout Southeast Asia, ranging from Thailand in the Chao Phraya and Mekong River basins to the Greater Sunda Islands. The species has been reported in Burma.
The species is omnivorous, sometimes eating toxic fruits when the streams it inhabits flood the forest; this may make them temporarily inedible. During the rainy season, juveniles migrate downstream. After 2 months, matured adults travel back upstream to spawn at the headwaters in the dry season.
While the species is not currently assigned a conservation status by the IUCN due to lack of data, overfishing is assumed to threaten the wild population. The empurau, as the species is known in Malaysia, is reportedly the most expensive edible fish in the country and has been known to fetch up to RM1800 per fish.