Description:
It can be distinguished from congeners in having a
combination of: three equally dark longitudinal stripes
separated by two pale interspaces on sides of body;
round, dark tympanic spot; ovoid, dark spot on caudal
peduncle; length of adipose-fin base 18.0–23.3%
SL; angle of predorsal profile 21–24°; posterior
cranial fontanelle not reaching base of supraoccipital
process; 25–30 rakers on the first branchial
arch; and 35–36 vertebrae. The identity of Mystus
pulcher is fixed with
the designation of a lectotype (Ng
HH, Kottelat M., 2023).
Habitat: Known from the middle Irrawaddy
River drainage in Myanmar, upstream of Mandalay.
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
name comes from the Latin noun celator, meaning a
concealer or hider, and is used in allusion to its
close similarity to (and misidentification with) M.
pulcher.
Common
Name:
None
Synonyms:
None
Family:
Bagridae
Distribution:
Asia:
Known from the middle Irrawaddy River drainage in
Myanmar, upstream of Mandalay.
Size:
8.0cm. (3¼ins)
Temp:
18-26°C (63-79°F)
p.H.
6.0-8.0.
Reference:
Fish
in the News2023. Ng HH, Kottelat M (2023) Mystus
celator, a new species of catfish from northern Myanmar
(Actinopterygii: Siluriformes: Bagridae). Vertebrate
Zoology 73 981–990.
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