Science News: Bagridae - Hemibagrus in China and Vietnam

[Silurus]

Synopsis by Shane Linder

In this paper Kottelat, Ng, and Ng redescribe Hemibagrus elongatus [Gunther, 1864] and determine that it is a junior subjective synonym of H. guttatus (La Cepede, 1803). The authors also discuss the confusing taxonomy surrounding Hemibagrus and various misidentifications that have appeared in the literature. For example, H. guttatus was described soley on the basis of a "Chinese painting" (the painting was actually Japanese, but that is not the point). The authors also believe that H. elongatus and H. chinensis are likely the same species and also standardize the spelling of H. amemiyae as H. amemiyai.


Reference: Kottelat K., Ng H. H. & P. K. Ng. 1998. Notes on the identity of Hemibagrus elongatus (Gunther, 1864) and other East Asian species allied to H. guttatus (La Cepede, 1803) (Teleostei: Bagridae). The Raffles Bulltetin of Zoology 46(2): 565-572.