Mystus cavasius
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Siluriformes (Catfishes)
Bagridae
Mystus
Mystus cavasius
Description
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Characters
Body shape: elongated. 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. Striking features: none.
Distribution
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.
Habitat Associations
Freshwater, brackish. demersal. Found in: streams, lakes.
Biology
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).
Max length: 40.0 cm SL; max weight: 10000 g.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2009-10-05. Resilience: Medium (Fec = 3,314).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial.
References
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Taki, Y. (1974) Fishes of the Lao Mekong Basin. United States Agency for International Development Mission to Laos Agriculture Division. 232 p.
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.
Roberts, T.R. (1994) Systematic revision of Asian bagrid catfishes of the genus Mystus sensu stricto, with a new species from Thailand and Cambodia. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 5(3):241-256.
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