Teleostei (teleosts) >
Siluriformes (Catfishes) >
Bagridae (Bagrid catfishes)
Etymology: Mystus: Greek, mystax = whiskered, used by Belon in 1553 to describe all fishes with whiskers (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Hamilton.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; brackish; demersal; amphidromous (Ref. 51243). Tropical; 5°N - 38°S
Asia: lowland rivers in most major basins of the Indian subcontinent (Pakistan, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar), including but not limited to the Indus, Brahmaputra-Ganges, Krishna, Cauvery, Irrawaddy, Salween and Tenasserim. Reports of this species from the Chao Phraya and Mekong basins, Malaysia, and Indonesia are based on misidentifications of Mystus albolineatus or Mystus singaringan. Occurs in Thailand, but only in the Salween basin.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 40.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4833); max. published weight: 10.0 kg (Ref. 4833)
Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 7; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 10 - 11. Body elongate and compressed; head conical; occipital process narrow. Maxillary barbels, in adults, extend posteriorly beyond the caudal fin base, but in young specimen, do not extend beyond the anal fin. Dorsal spine weak, often feebly serrated. Color is grayish with a more or less well-defined midlateral longitudinal stripe. A dark spot emphasized by a white or pale area along its ventral margin is just anterior to the first dorsal spine. Dorsal, adipose and caudal fins shaded with melanophores.
Facultative air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Found in tidal rivers and lakes; also beels, canals, ditches, ponds, and inundated fields. Its pectoral spine can cause painful wounds (Ref. 4833). Found in the basin-wide tributary of the lower Mekong (Ref. 36667). Oviparous, distinct pairing possibly like other members of the same family (Ref. 205).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Talwar, P.K. and A.G. Jhingran, 1991. Inland fishes of India and adjacent countries. Volume 2. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, i-xxii + 543-1158, 1 pl. (Ref. 4833)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
Tools
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00955 (0.00775 - 0.01177), b=2.96 (2.91 - 3.01), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.4 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Fec = 3,314).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate vulnerability (39 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 231 [118, 431] mg/100g; Iron = 2.13 [1.21, 3.62] mg/100g; Protein = 16.2 [15.2, 17.2] %; Omega3 = 0.165 [0.085, 0.302] g/100g; Selenium = 56.4 [28.9, 116.2] μg/100g; VitaminA = 17.9 [5.9, 51.0] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.53 [0.98, 2.31] mg/100g (wet weight); based on
nutrient studies.
