Description:
Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total):
7; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 17 - 21; Vertebrae:
49 - 50. Teeth strong, non-depressible; in narrow
bands in jaws and in four patches arranged across
front palate. Snout prominent, jaw teeth exposed;
mouth wide. Head somewhat venulosus, head shield almost
smooth. Eye small, free of head skin, 6-14% HL. No
rakers on posterior face of first two arches; gill
opening wide. Habitat: Inhabits coastal
and lower mangrove areas, estuaries into main rivers
and lagoons. Colouration: Body orange-yellow;
lips, inside mouth and body usually covered with orange
or yellow mucus, and teeth usually reddish. Etymology:
The genus name Batrachocephalus: bátrachos,
frog; cephalus, from kephal, head, referring to the
frog-like head of B. ageneiosus (= mino).
The species epithet mino: presumably a local
name for this fish along upper Ganges estuaries in
India.
Common
Name:
Warrior
catfish
Synonyms:
Arius dioctes, Hemiarius
dioctes
Family:
Ariidae
Distribution:
Western
Central Pacific:
Southern coast of New Guinea and rivers from Kamora
River to Otokwa River, and eastward to Gulf of Papua
rivers; northern coast and rivers of Australia from
Adelaide to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Type
locality: Norman River at Karumba (17º29'S,
140º50'E), Queensland, Australia.
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