''Pangasius conchophilus'' (snail eating pangasius) is a species of

shark catfish The shark catfishes form the family Pangasiidae. They are found in fresh and brackish waters across southern Asia, from Pakistan to Borneo. Among the 30-odd members of this family is the plant-eating, endangered Mekong giant catfish ''Pangasia ...

.Roberts, Tyson R., and Chavalit Vidthayanon. "Systematic revision of the Asian catfish family Pangasiidae, with biological observations and descriptions of three new species." Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (1991): 97-143. It is a freshwater,

benthopelagic The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a layer of ...

potamodromous Fish migration is animal migration, mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few ...

and tropical fish, measuring up to long. It is found in the

Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth-longest river and the third-longest in Asia with an estimated length of and a drainage area of , discharging of wat ...

, Bangpakong, and

Chao Phraya The Chao Phraya River 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. Etymology Written evidence of the river being referred to by the ...

basins.

Description

This species counts with 25 to 30

anal Anal may refer to: Related to the anus *Related to the anus of animals: ** Anal fin, in fish anatomy ** Anal vein, in insect anatomy ** Anal scale, in reptile anatomy *Related to the human anus: ** Anal sex, a type of sexual activity involving ...

soft rays. Its dorsum is a dull grey colour with a pale green

iridescence Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear gradually to change colour as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Iridescence is caused by wave interference of light in microstru ...

. Its

maxilla In vertebrates, the maxilla (: maxillae ) is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In humans, the upper jaw includes the hard palate in the front of the mouth. The two maxil ...

ry band of teeth forms a continuous row, and its

snout A snout is the protruding portion of an animal's face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw. In many animals, the structure is called a muzzle, Rostrum (anatomy), rostrum, beak or proboscis. The wet furless surface around the nostrils of the n ...

protrudes with upper jaw tooth bands which are somewhat exposed when the animal's mouth is closed; it possesses a large median

vomer The vomer (; ) is one of the unpaired facial bones of the skull. It is located in the midsagittal line, and articulates with the sphenoid, the ethmoid, the left and right palatine bones, and the left and right maxillary bones. The vomer forms ...

ine tooth plate. The fish habitates large rivers and enters flooded forests. It is also found in

rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep stream gradient, gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Flow, gradient, constriction, and obstacles are four factors that are needed for a rapid t ...

and in deep slow reaches. Juveniles are found to feed on

prawn Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton An exoskeleton () . is a skeleton that is on the exterior of an animal in the form of hardened integument, which both supports the body's shape and protects the intern ...

s and insects, while adults on prawns, insects,

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

s, and on plants. The species migrates into the middle Mekong along the Thai- Lao border as water

turbidity Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of both water clarity and wa ...

increases. It is known to reproduce early in the flood season, and juveniles of between are taken by the end of the month of June. It is a local edible specimen.

References

External links

* Pangasiidae Catfish of Asia Taxa named by Tyson R. Roberts Taxa named by Chavalit Vidthayanon Fish described in 1991 {{Siluriformes-stub

Description

References

Further reading

External links