JAGTIAL: A fisherman caught a fish belonging to a South American species from a lake at Atmanagar of Metpally mandal in Jagtial district on Friday.
The fish, weighing around half-a-kg, was trapped in the net of Gollepalli Rajanarasu. It had spots on its skin and stripes of white and black, as in a zebra.
Rajanarsu and other fishermen called up the district fisheries officials. The officials reached the village and identified it as a devil fish (dayyam chapa). Categorised as Pterygoplichthys or janitor fish of the South American stock, an armored freshwater catfish species, it is called Hypostomus plecostomus, the officials explained to the fishermen.
The officials said that it might have come from somewhere along with the flow of water in the recent heavy rains.
The black-coloured fish had long wings, spines on its body and a tail. It did not have scales. The officials said the devil fish variety is known more as scavengers than predators, and they feed on smaller fishes for food.
The fish is known to cause damage to fishing nets as it has sharp fins. It can move on the marshy land and find its way to the nearest water source.
The devil fish is not for human consumption as it has spines and not much flesh in its body. As the population of the fish variety is declining in recent times, it is rarely seen. In some areas, fishermen call it rakshasi chapa, the officials said.
