Description:
Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total):
7; Anal soft rays: 10 - 11. Mystus catapogon
is distinguished from other species of Mystus
by having the following characters: long and shallow
cephalic groove divided into two peripheral fontanelles;
occipital process short, not reaching base of dorsal
fin; shorter snout; maxillary barbels very long, reaching
behind caudal fin base; nasal barbels reaching a little
behind occiput and almost as long as head; and longer
outer mandibular barbels reaching nearly base of pelvic-fin
origin and inner mandibular barbels extending to the
middle of pectoral fin. It further differs from its
congeners by having elongated rays on dorsal fin which
is higher than the body. Colouration:
Yellowish body without any stripes; black triangular
mark outside operculum. Reproduction:
Oviparous, distinct pairing possibly like other members
of the same family. Etymology: The
genus name Mystus: "Mystax" meaning
whiskered (hair on the upper lip) Mystus was
first used by Belon in 1553 to describe all fish with
whiskers. The specific epithet catapogon:
Name from the Greek word catapogon, meaning long-bearded,
in reference to the long maxillary and mandibular
barbels of this species.
Common
Name:
Mavelikkara Mystus
Synonyms:
None
Family:
Bagridae
Distribution:
South Asia:
Kerala, India.
Size:
7.5cm (3ins)
Temp:
22-27°C (71-81°F)
p.H.
6.5-7.5.
Reference:
Froese, R. and D. Pauly.
Editors. 2024. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic
publication. www.fishbase.org, ( 10/2024 )
Plamoottil, M., 2016. Mystus catapogon, a
new catfish (Siluriformes: Bagridae) species from
Kerala, India. J. Res. Biol. 6(2):1967-1976.
Mystus
catapogon Holotype-dorsal head view-India, Kerala
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