Blood parameters of two hill stream cobitids in relation to their habitat

✍ Scribed by A.N. Yadav; S.N. Sharma; G. Guha; B.R. Singh

• Book ID: 104614917
• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1978
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 410 KB
• Volume: 60
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1573-5141
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00018687

✦ Synopsis

The blood of two fresh water cobitids -Botia lohachata, an exclusive water breathing form and Lepidocephalus guntea a dual breather,-showed a comparatively higher range of Hb (16 .o-19 .o g%), Hct (50 .0-61 .1%) and number of RBC (2.71-6.7 millions/mm') than many other water and air breathing fishes . Significant sexual difference exists in these characteristics (P > 0.05) .

The impact of life in oxygen depleted water, also inhabited by L . guntea as a result of its air breathing habit, is well reflected in its greater RBC size (11 .86 x 8 .66 µm) and their larger surface area (83 .96 µm2 ) compared to that of Botia (53 .16 µm) . The smaller size (9 .92 x 6 .45 µm) and consequently greater number of erythrocytes (4 .67 millions/mm') in Botia, are related to its active mode of life in the swiftly flowing water of hilly rivers . Though the higher nucleo-cytoplasmic ratio of 1 : 5 .2 in Botia and t : 6 .9 in Lepidocephalus suggest a slower red cell metabolism, the greater number of erythrocytes seems to have compensated for their active mode of life .