''Heteropneustes'' is a

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 ...

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, the airsac catfishes, native to

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. This genus is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

. Their bodies are elongated and compressed with greatly depressed heads. They have long air sacs that serve as lungs that extend from the

gill 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 ...

chamber. Their dorsal fins are short and have no spine. Their pectoral fins have an associated venom gland, so the fish are considered dangerous.Nelson, J. S.:

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011) is a standard reference for fish systematics. Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of the diversity and classification of the ...

, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., p , 2006 They are

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and m ...

; distinct pairing is possible.

Species

Five

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 appropriat ...

in this genus are recognized: * ''

Heteropneustes fossilis The Asian stinging catfish or fossil cat (''Heteropneustes fossilis'') is a species of airsac catfish found in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, and Bhutan. It has also been introduced to the Tigris River Basin ...

'' (

Bloch Bloch is a surname of German origin. Notable people with this surname include: A–F * (1859-1914), French rabbi *Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881-1925), Austrian entrepreneur * Albert Bloch (1882–1961), American painter * (born 1972), German motor journa ...

, 1794) (stinging catfish) * '' Heteropneustes kemratensis'' ( Fowler, 1937) * '' Heteropneustes nani'' Hossain, Sarker, Sharifuzzaman &

Chowdhury Chowdhury is a title of honour, usually hereditary, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is an adaption from Sanskrit. During the Mughal rule, it was a title awarded to eminent people, while during British rule, the term was associate ...

, 2013Hossain, M.S., Sarker, S., Sharifuzzaman, S.M. & Chowdhury, S.R. (2013)
New species of stinging catfish ''Heteropneustes nani'' (Siluriformes: Heteropneustidae) from Noakhali, Bangladesh.
''Vertebrate Zoology, 63 (3): 259–267.'' * '' Heteropneustes longipectoralis'' Rema Devi & Raghunathan, 1999 * '' Heteropneustes microps'' ( Günther, 1864) * '' Heteropneustes fuscus'' Plamoottil, 2021(Black stinging catfish)

References

Fish of South Asia Catfish genera Taxa named by Johannes Peter Müller Freshwater fish genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{catfish-stub Plamoottil, M. 2021.Heteropneustes fuscus (Siluriformes: Heteropneustidae), a new catfish species from Kerala, India. Biodiversitas, 22 (12): 87-98.