Science News: Bagridae - Hemibagrus furcatus

[Silurus]

Synopsis by Erwin Schraml

Ng, Martin-Smith, and Ng have recently described a new Hemibagrus species from the Segama River drainage. The colour is an overall light to dark brown (variation possibly linked to substrate colour) with a dark humeral spot and a very thin light stripe along the lateral line. This is a small Hemibagrus and is sexually mature at 100 mm (about 4 inches). They live in the deeper slow-flowing pools under rocks, undercut banks and driftwood. The natural diet consists of small fish, frogs, crustaceans, and insects. The description contains three nice black and white photos.


Reference: Ng, H. H., K. M. Martin-Smith, & P. K. L. Ng. 2000. Hemibagrus furcatus, a new species of bagrid catfish (Teleostei: Siluriformes) from Sabah, east Malaysia. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 48(1): 65-69.