genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
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 belonging to the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Siluridae
Siluridae is the nominate family of catfishes in the order Siluriformes. About 105 living species of silurids are placed in 12 or 14 genera.
Although silurids occur across much of Europe and Asia, they are most diverse in Southeast Asia, beyond ...
. They are found in
freshwater
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
throughout
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 United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
. The
scientific name
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
comes from
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
''kryptós'' (κρυπτός, "hidden") + ''ptéryx'' (πτέρυξ, "fin"). It refers to the reduced or even entirely absent
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 conv ...
of these catfishes.
These small- to medium-sized catfishes have opaque, transparent or translucent bodies, hence their common name Asian glass catfishes. Despite this name, only three described species have clearly transparent bodies: '' K. minor'', '' K. piperatus'' and '' K. vitreolus''.Ng, H-H. and M. Kottelat (2013). ''After eighty years of misidentification, a name for the glass catfish (Teleostei: Siluridae)'' Zootaxa 3630: 308-316. Most significant among these is the ghost catfish (''K. vitreolus''), which is the "glass catfish" most often seen in the
aquarium
An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...
fish trade. This species was initially confused with the larger glass catfish (''K. bicirrhis''; infrequent in aquarium trade) and subsequently with ''K. minor'' (essentially absent from aquarium trade). This matter was only fully resolved in 2013.SeriouslyFish: Kryptopterus vitreolus. ' Retrieved 18 July 2014.
Species
While 18
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
have been described as of 2013, the genus ''Kryptopterus'' is notoriously rich in
cryptic species
In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...
. A number of these have been recognized in recent years, and more are likely to follow:
* ''
Kryptopterus baramensis
''Kryptopterus'' is a genus of catfishes belonging to the family Siluridae. They are found in freshwater throughout Southeast Asia. The scientific name comes from Ancient Greek ''kryptós'' (κρυπτός, "hidden") + ''ptéryx'' (πτέρυ ...
Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...
, 1840)
* ''
Kryptopterus cheveyi
''Kryptopterus'' is a genus of catfishes belonging to the family Siluridae. They are found in freshwater throughout Southeast Asia. The scientific name comes from Ancient Greek ''kryptós'' (κρυπτός, "hidden") + ''ptéryx'' (πτέρυ ...
Kryptopterus cryptopterus
''Kryptopterus cryptopterus'' (blue sheatfish) is a species of catfish, the type species of the genus ''Kryptopterus''. It can be distinguished from all its congeners, with the exception of the newly split ''Kryptopterus geminus'', by the almost ...
'' (
Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Kryptopterus dissitus
''Kryptopterus'' is a genus of catfishes belonging to the family Siluridae. They are found in freshwater throughout Southeast Asia. The scientific name comes from Ancient Greek ''kryptós'' (κρυπτός, "hidden") + ''ptéryx'' (πτέρυ ...
Kryptopterus geminus
''Kryptopterus geminus'' is a species of catfish belonging to the family Siluridae. It can be distinguished from all its congeners, with the exception of '' Kryptopterus cryptopterus'', by the almost flat dorsal profile with no concavity behind th ...
Kryptopterus hesperius
''Kryptopterus'' is a genus of catfishes belonging to the family Siluridae. They are found in freshwater throughout Southeast Asia. The scientific name comes from Ancient Greek ''kryptós'' (κρυπτός, "hidden") + ''ptéryx'' (πτέρυ ...
Kryptopterus lais
''Kryptopterus'' is a genus of catfishes belonging to the family Siluridae. They are found in freshwater throughout Southeast Asia. The scientific name comes from Ancient Greek ''kryptós'' (κρυπτός, "hidden") + ''ptéryx'' (πτέρυ ...
'' (
Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Kryptopterus limpok
''Kryptopterus'' is a genus of catfishes belonging to the family Siluridae. They are found in freshwater throughout Southeast Asia. The scientific name comes from Ancient Greek ''kryptós'' (κρυπτός, "hidden") + ''ptéryx'' (πτέρυ ...
'' (
Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Kryptopterus lumholtzi
''Kryptopterus'' is a genus of catfishes belonging to the family Siluridae. They are found in freshwater throughout Southeast Asia. The scientific name comes from Ancient Greek ''kryptós'' (κρυπτός, "hidden") + ''ptéryx'' (πτέρυ ...
''
Rendahl
Carl Hialmar Rendahl (born Jönköping 26 December 1891; died Stockholm 2 May 1969) was a Swedish zoologist, cartoonist and painter. He is most famous in Sweden for his authorship of ''Fågelboken'', the "bird book" which sold 60,000 copies.
Renda ...
Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Kryptopterus minor'' Roberts, 1989 (Ghost catfish, glass catfish)
* ''
Kryptopterus mononema
''Kryptopterus'' is a genus of catfishes belonging to the family Siluridae. They are found in freshwater throughout Southeast Asia. The scientific name comes from Ancient Greek ''kryptós'' (κρυπτός, "hidden") + ''ptéryx'' (πτέρυξ ...
'' (
Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Kryptopterus palembangensis'' (
Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Kryptopterus paraschilbeides
''Kryptopterus'' is a genus of catfishes belonging to the family Siluridae. They are found in freshwater throughout Southeast Asia. The scientific name comes from Ancient Greek ''kryptós'' (κρυπτός, "hidden") + ''ptéryx'' (πτέρυ ...
Kryptopterus piperatus
''Kryptopterus piperatus'' is a species of Asian glass catfish from rivers in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. It was first described in 2004. True ''K. piperatus'' is rarely (if ever) seen in the aquarium trade, while ''K. vitreolus'' is common. ...
Kryptopterus schilbeides
''Kryptopterus'' is a genus of catfishes belonging to the family Siluridae. They are found in freshwater throughout Southeast Asia. The scientific name comes from Ancient Greek ''kryptós'' (κρυπτός, "hidden") + ''ptéryx'' (πτέρυ ...
'' (
Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Kryptopterus vitreolus
''Kryptopterus vitreolus'', known in the aquarium trade traditionally as the glass catfishSeriouslyFish: Kryptopterus vitreolus.' Retrieved 18 July 2014. and also as the ghost catfish or phantom catfish, is a small species of Asian glass catfish ...
Kottelat
Maurice Kottelat (born 16 July 1957 in Delémont, SwitzerlandC ...
, 2013 (Ghost catfish, phantom catfish, ghost fish, glass catfish)Ng, H.H. & Kottelat, M. (2013): After eighty years of misidentification, a name for the glass catfish (Teleostei: Siluridae). ''Zootaxa, 3630 (2): 308–316.'',
Some species formerly placed in ''Kryptopterus'' are nowadays in other
Siluridae
Siluridae is the nominate family of catfishes in the order Siluriformes. About 105 living species of silurids are placed in 12 or 14 genera.
Although silurids occur across much of Europe and Asia, they are most diverse in Southeast Asia, beyond ...
genera, in particular ''
Phalacronotus
''Phalacronotus'' is a genus of Siluridae, sheatfishes native to Asia
Species
There are currently four recognized species in this genus:
*''Phalacronotus apogon'' (Pieter Bleeker, Bleeker, 1851) (Metallic sheatfish)
*''Phalacronotus bleekeri'' ( ...
Pterocryptis
''Pterocryptis'' is a genus of sheatfish. These fish are medium-sized catfishes usually found in fast flowing mountain streams throughout India, southern China and Southeast Asia. There are two cavefish species in the genus, ''P. buccata'' and ...