Salween schilbid catfish

description

Description. (based primarily on NRM 31187) Body elongate, compressed; depth at dorsal origin nearly 5 in SL and approximately equal to HL; dorsal profile of body slightly convex, nearly horizontal posterior of dorsal fin, straight between dorsal-fin origin and snout; abdomen sharply keeled from level of pectoral-fin origin to vent; vent located just anterior to anal-fin origin. Lateral line complete, straight, with short branches extending obliquely above and, mostly, below for entire length. Vertebral column with 48 to 50 vertebrae and 13 or 14 ribs. Head nearly 5 in SL; compressed posteriorly, nearly as high as wide at middle of eye; opercular opening broad, extending from level of lateral line to anterior of isthmus, opercular membranes not connected to isthmus; posterolateral margin of operculum with posteriorly directed, fleshy lobe; tip of lobe rounded. Snout acutely rounded in lateral view, in dorsal view, snout margin trilobed, lobes not well defined; anterior naris located on anterior margin of snout; naris round and directed anteriorly, narial opening surrounded by reflexed skin; posterior naris an elongated slit, located slightly posterodorsal and medial to anterior nar

A new species of the Asian schilbid catfish genus Clupisoma from Myanmar, with a redescription of Clupisoma prateri Hora (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes: Schilbidae).

diagnosis

Diagnosis. A species of Clupisoma in which the pectoral spine extends at least to the base of the pelvic fin, the abdomen is markedly keeled from the level of the pectoral-fin origin to the anus, pectoral fin with 12 or 13 segmented rays, anal fin with 37 to 41 branched rays, and first gill arch with at least 20 rakers. The body is silvery, except for a dorsal greenish band that extends only slightly ventral of the middorsal line of the body.

A new species of the Asian schilbid catfish genus Clupisoma from Myanmar, with a redescription of Clupisoma prateri Hora (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes: Schilbidae).

discussion

Remarks. Hora (1937: 672 - 673) distinguished Clupisoma prateri from Clupisoma garua on the basis of seven characters: “ nasal barbels extend considerably beyond the front margin of the eye; maxillary barbel extend to about the middle of pelvics and sometimes to the commencement of the anal fin; mandibular barbels extend to the hind border of operculum; pectorals extend beyond pelvic-fin origin; anal with about 40 to 44 rays; whole of dorsal fin considerably in advance of pelvics; and abdominal edge keeled throughout in front of vent. ” Although Hora stated that the specimens he examined were not in good condition, the characters he observed fit well with those found in the specimens examined here from the lower Irrawaddy basin and nearby rivers. Therefore, even in the absence of a direct examination of the holotype, there is no doubt that the lower Irrawaddy specimens are Clupisoma prateri. Characters that separate this species from Clupisoma roosae, the only other species in Myanmar, are summarized in Table 1 as well as the Remarks section of that species. Clupisoma prateri is distinguished from all other congeners by the extent of the midventral abdominal keel, which extends fro

A new species of the Asian schilbid catfish genus Clupisoma from Myanmar, with a redescription of Clupisoma prateri Hora (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes: Schilbidae).

distribution

Distribution. Found widely distributed in the lower and middle reaches of the Irrawaddy River, the lower reaches of the Salween River, and the Bago and Sittang rivers of Myanmar.

A new species of the Asian schilbid catfish genus Clupisoma from Myanmar, with a redescription of Clupisoma prateri Hora (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes: Schilbidae).