Science News: Bagridae - Hemibagrus krishnensis

[Silurus]

Synopsis by Shane Linder

Ramakrishniah has described what may well be the largest Asian species of the family bagridae. Hemibagrus krishnensis is found in the middle and lower reaches of the Krishna River system and was encountered both in reservoirs and rivers. The fish is known locally as "ponduga." The holotype measures 395 mm total length (15.5 inches), but the author measured specimens up to 1445 mm (over 57 inches) that weighed 31 kg (over 68 lbs). It is an attractive fish that is an overall olive green with a long filament trailing from the upper caudal lobe. The fins are orange/ red in life similar to those of Hemibagrus wyckioides.

Note: This fish was not included in Mo's 1991 study of Bagridae. As such, it was not transferred to the genus Hemibagrus. It is presented here as a member of Hemibagrus based on Mo's definition of that genus and Robert Tyson's 1994 definition of Mystus sensu stricto. According to Ng & Ferraris, this fish is a junior synonym of H. maydelli (Rossel, 1964).


References: Mo, T. 1991. Anatomy, Relationships, and Systematics of the Bagridae (Teleostei: Siluroidei) with a Hypothesis of Siluroid Phylogeny. Koeltz, Koenigstein, viii +216pp.
Ramakrishniah M. 1987. A new bagrid of the genus Mystus (Scopoli) from the Krishna River system. Matsya 12-13: 139-143
Roberts T. R. 1994. Systematic revision of the Asian bagrid catfishes of the genus Mystus sensu stricto, with a new species from Thailand and Cambodia. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwater, Vol. 5 No. 3: 241-256.