Bashambhar Nath Chopra or B. N. Chopra (1898 – 2 March 1966) was an Indian zoologist who specialized in crustacea and ichthyology at the

Zoological Survey of India The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), founded on 1 July 1916 by Government of India Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, as premier Indian organisation in zoological research and studies to promote the survey, exploration and r ...

Biography

Chopra received a DSc from Panjab University Lahore studying crustaceans and joined the

in 1923. He was an assistant superintendent until 1944 when he became director. After independence he served as an advisor for fisheries development to the Government of India. Chopra collected aquatic fauna on several expeditions, particularly to Meghalaya, the Shan States and the Indawggyi Lake in Upper Burma and described a number of species, particularly decapods. A fish ''

Triplophysa choprai ''Triplophysa choprai'', the snow loach, is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Triplophysa ''Triplophysa'' is a genus of fish in the family Nemacheilidae found mainly in and around the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China. Currently, the g ...

'' named from a specimen collected by him was named in his honour by Sunder Lal Hora in 1934. Other species named after him include ''

Danio choprae The glowlight danio (''Danio choprae'') is a small, schooling fish closely related to the popular zebrafish ''Danio rerio''. This should not be confused with the GloFishbr> a trademarked brand of fluorescent zebrafish that appear to glow in the d ...

'' and '' Leoparreysia choprae'' (although the -''ae'' ending is typically used for feminine names). During World War I, Chopra was involved in shifting the collections of the ZSI from Calcutta to Kaiser Castle belonging to Sir Jung Bahadur Rana in Benares. Some damage was caused when the Varuna river flooded into the building. Nearly all the 27,000 bird specimens were soaked.

References

External links

Handbook of Indian Fisheries
(1951)
Indian National Science Academy: Deceased Fellow: Bashambhar Nath Chopra
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chopra, Bashambhar Nath 1966 deaths 1898 births Indian zoologists