Science News: Bagridae - Hemibagrus spilopterus

[Silurus]

Synopsis by <B>Shane Linder</B>

<I>Hemibagrus spilopterus</I> Ng & Rainboth, 1999 has recently been added to the fast-growing genus <I>Hemibagrus</I>. <I>Hemibagrus spilopterus</I> can reach a standard length of over 300 mm (about 12 inches) and is known only from the lower Mekong River drainage. <I> H. spilopterus</I> can be easily identified by the dark spot present in the adipose fin. Only one other <I>Hemibagrus</I>, <I>H.</I> cf. <I>nemurus</I> from Sumatra, also sports this spot. However, in the second species the spot on the adipose fin is oval instead of round. <I> Hemibagrus spilopterus</I> feeds on exogenous insects, aquatic insect larvae, shrimps, and other fishes. In the Cambodian Mekong it moves into the flooded forests to spawn and the young are first seen in August, with the adults returning to the rivers in November and December.

Also discussed in the paper are: <I>Hemibagrus filamentus</I> (Chaux & Fang, 1949), <I>H. hoevenii</I> (Bleeker, 1846), <I>H.</I> cf. <I>nemurus</I>, <I>H. wyckii</I> (Bleeker, 1858), and <I>H. wyckioides</I> (Chaux & Fang, 1949). <I> Hemibagrus wyckioides</I>, the Asian red tail catfish, and <I>H. wyckii</I>, the crystal-eyed catfish, are both kept in the aquarium hobby. This paper provides some interesting insights on these two fish that would be interesting to the hobbyist.


<B>References</B>: Ng H. H. & W. J. Rainbooth. 1999. The bagrid catfish genus <I>Hemibagrus</I> (Teleostei: Siluriformes) in central Indochina with a new species from the Mekong River. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 47(2): 555-576.