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''Bagarius'' ( th, ปลาแค้) is an Asian
''B. gigas'' is reportedly from the
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of catfish
Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...
es (order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...
Siluriformes) of the family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Sisoridae. It includes five to six extant
Extant is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to:
* Extant hereditary titles
* Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English
* Extant taxon, a taxon which is not extinct, ...
species and potentially one extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
fossil species, '' B. gigas''.
Species
There are currently five to six extant species placed in ''Bagarius'': * '' Bagarius bagarius'' (Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilto ...
, 1822)
*'' Bagarius lica'' Volz, 1903
* '' Bagarius rutilus'' Ng & , 2000
* '' Bagarius suchus'' Roberts, 1983 (Crocodile catfish)
*'' Bagarius vegrandis'' Ng & , 2021 (Dwarf goonch catfish)
*'' Bagarius yarrelli'' ( Sykes, 1839) (goonch catfish) (doubtfully distinct from '' B. bagarius'')
A 2021 study found the giant devil catfish (''Bagarius yarrelli'') to be synonymous with ''B. bagarius''.
One potential fossil species, †'' Bagarius gigas,'' is known from the Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', ...
of Sumatra
Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
.
Distribution
''Bagarius'' species inhabitsouth
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
and southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
. They are distributed in the Indus
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
drainage in Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
, east (including peninsular India) to the Red River drainage in Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...
and south throughout Indochina
Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
including the Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula ( Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The ar ...
and Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...
. ''B. bagarius'' is known from the Ganges River
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
, Chao Phraya
The Chao Phraya ( or ; th, แม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา, , or ) is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand.
E ...
, and the Mekong
The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annual ...
drainages, as well as the Malay Peninsula and the Salween and Mae Klong
The Mae Klong (, , ), sometimes spelled Mae Khlong or Meklong, is a river in western Thailand. The river begins at the confluence of the Khwae Noi (Khwae Sai Yok) and the Khwae Yai River (Khwae Si Sawat) in Kanchanaburi, it passes Ratchaburi ...
drainages and the Brahmaputra River
The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. I ...
and Ayeyarwady River
The Irrawaddy River ( Ayeyarwady River; , , from Indo-Aryan languages, Indic ''revatī'', meaning "abounding in riches") is a river that flows from north to south through Myanmar (Burma). It is the country's largest river and most important comm ...
. ''B. suchus'' originates from the Mekong and Chao Phraya basins. ''B. rutilus'' inhabits the Red River and Ma River in northern Vietnam.
Fossil record
''B. gigas'' is reportedly from the Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', ...
of Sumatra, but the age of the locale has been questioned.
The oldest known confirmed sisorid fossil is ''B. bagarius'' found in Sumatra and India of the Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58
Mutant fish develops a taste for human flesh in India
/ref> There is speculation that some drownings have also been caused by large specimens that have "developed a taste" for human flesh from the corpses and subsequently have attacked bathers in the river. This is the subject of a TV documentary aired on 22 October 2008, as well as an episode about the Kali River goonch attacks on the
Description
''Bagarius'' species have a broad head that is moderately or strongly depressed. The mouth is broad and terminal or slightly inferior. Thegill
A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they ar ...
openings are wide. The dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...
and pectoral fin
Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...
s have strong spines. The dorsal fin spine is smooth, and the pectoral fin spine is smooth anteriorly and finely serrate posteriorly. The dorsal, pectoral, and caudal fin
Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...
lobes sometimes with filamentous extensions. The head and body is entirely or almost entirely covered by heavily keratin
Keratin () is one of a family of structural fibrous proteins also known as ''scleroproteins''. Alpha-keratin (α-keratin) is a type of keratin found in vertebrates. It is the key structural material making up Scale (anatomy), scales, hair, Nail ...
ized skin superficially differentiated into unculiferous plaques or tubercle
In anatomy, a tubercle (literally 'small tuber', Latin for 'lump') is any round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth found on external or internal organs of a plant or an animal.
In plants
A tubercle is generally a wart-like projection ...
s. ''Bagarius'' species lack a thoracic adhesive apparatus and paired fins are unplaited.
''Bagarius'' species have the same general colour pattern consisting of three darkly pigmented bands or blotches on the body. Irregularly placed spots may also be present on the body. The fin pigmentation varies from species to species, from plain, to spotted, to slightly or heavily barred. Also, some ''B. yarelli'' may have a heavily spotted pattern like a Dalmatian dog that obscures the main barred pattern.
In ''B. bagarius'', the pelvic fin origin is normally anterior to a vertical line through the base of the last dorsal fin ray, while in ''B. yarelli'' the pelvic fin origin is posterior to this vertical line. Also, in most ''B. bagarius'', the adipose fin
Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...
originates far back over the anal fin
Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as see ...
, on a vertical through the base of the third or four anal fin ray. However, in most ''B. yarelli'', the adipose fin originates near or in front of a vertical line through the anal fin origin. In ''B. suchus'', the adipose fin originates even further back than in ''B. bagarius'' or ''B. yarelli''. ''B. suchus'' tends to have a flatter head and body than either ''B. bagarius'' or ''B. yarelli''.
''B. bagarius'' does not grow much past 20 centimetres (7.9 in) SL. ''B. rutilus'' grows to about 100.0 cm (39.4 in) SL. ''B. suchus'' grows to about 70.0 cm (27.6 in) SL. ''B. yarelli'' grows very large, reaching about 200 cm (78.7 in) SL.
Ecology
''B. bagarius'' inhabits rapid and rocky pools of large and medium-sized rivers. ''B. suchus'' is usually associated with rapids in the large rivers it inhabits. ''B. yarelli'' occurs in large rivers on the bottom, even with swift current, never entering small streams. It is found among boulders, often in the white water of the rapids where it apparently is indifferent to the strong current. ''B. bagarius'' is primarily entomophagous. It also feeds on small fishes, frogs and shrimps. ''B. suchus'', however, is a piscivore. ''B. yarelli'' feeds primarily onprawn
Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton and ten legs (which is a member of the order decapoda), some of which can be eaten.
The term "prawn"Mortenson, Philip B (2010''This is not a weasel: a close look at nature' ...
s but also eat small fishes and aquatic insects.
''B. bagarius'' breeds in rivers prior to the beginning of the annual flood season.
''B. yarelli'' migrates in schools. It is reported to migrate to follow its prey. It is also reported that it follows '' Catlocarpio siamensis'' during its upstream migration. Apparently the main upstream migration begins close to the peak of flood, when the current is very strong and the water is turbid.
Relationship to humans
''Bagarius'' species are marketed fresh, and are important as a food fish, but the meat spoils rapidly and can cause illness. The Goonch catfish ''B. yarrelli'' has become an object of media attention as reports have surfaced of some of these fish feeding on funeralpyre
A pyre ( grc, πυρά; ''pyrá'', from , ''pyr'', "fire"), also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite or execution. As a form of cremation, a body is placed upon or under the ...
s in the Kali River./ref> There is speculation that some drownings have also been caused by large specimens that have "developed a taste" for human flesh from the corpses and subsequently have attacked bathers in the river. This is the subject of a TV documentary aired on 22 October 2008, as well as an episode about the Kali River goonch attacks on the
Animal Planet
Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1, 1996, the network is primarily ...
series ''River Monsters
''River Monsters'' is a British and United States, American wildlife Documentary film, documentary Television show, television programme produced for Animal Planet by Icon Films of Bristol, United Kingdom. It is hosted by extreme Angling, ang ...
''.
References