Hemibagrus Explained

Hemibagrus is a genus of catfishes (order Siluriformes) of the family Bagridae.

The genus Hemibagrus is known from Southeast Asia, India, and southern China.^[1] Members of this genus are found ubiquitously in river drainages east of the Ganges-Brahmaputra basin and south of the Yangtze basin, and reach their greatest diversity in Sundaland.

This genus consists of large-sized catfishes.^[2] H. wyckioides is the largest Bagrid catfish in central Indochina and may reach 80 kilograms. It includes species with depressed (flattened) heads, rugose (ridged or wrinkled) head shields not covered by skin, and moderately long adipose fins.^[2]

In Southeast Asia, Hemibagrus species are an important source of animal protein.^[3]

The extinct species, H. major,^[4] ^[5] is a fossil species from a Miocene lake fauna from what is now Ban Nong Pia, Phetchabun Province of Thailand.

Species

There are currently 41 recognized species in this genus:

Hemibagrus amemiyai (Sh. Kimura, 1934)
Hemibagrus baramensis (Regan, 1906)
Hemibagrus bongan (Popta, 1904)
Hemibagrus camthuyensis V. H. Nguyễn, 2005
Hemibagrus caveatus H. H. Ng, Wirjoatmodjo & Hadiaty, 2001
Hemibagrus centralus Đ. Y. Mai, 1978
Hemibagrus chiemhoaensis V. H. Nguyễn, 2005
Hemibagrus chrysops H. H. Ng & Dodson, 1999
Hemibagrus divaricatus H. H. Ng & Kottelat, 2013^[6]
Hemibagrus dongbacensis V. H. Nguyễn, 2005
Hemibagrus filamentus (P. W. Fang & Chaux, 1949)
Hemibagrus fortis (Popta, 1904)
Hemibagrus furcatus H. H. Ng, Martin-Smith & P. K. L. Ng, 2000
Hemibagrus gracilis P. K. L. Ng & H. H. Ng, 1995
Hemibagrus guttatus (Lacépède, 1803)
Hemibagrus hainanensis (T. L. Tchang, 1935)
Hemibagrus hoevenii (Bleeker, 1846)
Hemibagrus hongus Đ. Y. Mai, 1978
Hemibagrus imbrifer H. H. Ng & Ferraris, 2000
Hemibagrus johorensis (Herre, 1940)
Hemibagrus lacustrinus H. H. Ng & Kottelat, 2013^[6]
Hemibagrus macropterus Bleeker, 1870
Hemibagrus maydelli (Rössel, 1964)
Hemibagrus menoda (F. Hamilton, 1822) (Menoda catfish)
Hemibagrus microphthalmus (F. Day, 1877)
Hemibagrus nemurus (Valenciennes, 1840) (Yellow catfish)
Hemibagrus olyroides (T. R. Roberts, 1989)
Hemibagrus peguensis (Boulenger, 1894)
Hemibagrus planiceps (Valenciennes, 1840)
Hemibagrus pluriradiatus (Vaillant, 1892)
Hemibagrus punctatus (Jerdon, 1849)
Hemibagrus sabanus (Inger & P. K. Chin, 1959)
Hemibagrus semotus H. H. Ng & Kottelat, 2013^[6]
Hemibagrus songdaensis V. H. Nguyễn, 2005
Hemibagrus spilopterus H. H. Ng & Rainboth, 1999
Hemibagrus taybacensis V. H. Nguyễn, 2005
Hemibagrus variegatus H. H. Ng & Ferraris, 2000
Hemibagrus velox H. H. Tan & H. H. Ng, 2000
Hemibagrus vietnamicus Đ. Y. Mai, 1978
Hemibagrus wyckii (Bleeker, 1858)
Hemibagrus wyckioides (P. W. Fang & Chaux, 1949)

Notes and References

Hemibagrus gracilis, a New Species of Large Riverine Catfish (Teleostei: Bagridae) from Peninsular Malaysia. Peter K. L.. Ng. Ng, H. H.. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 1995. 43. 1. 133–142. PDF. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070617223333/http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/43/43rbz133-142.pdf. 2007-06-17.
Morphological and Genetic Descriptions of a New Species of Catfish, Hemibagrus chrysops, from Sarawak, East Malaysia, with an Assessment of Phylogenetic Relationships (Teleostei: Bagridae. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. Heok Hee. Ng. Dodson, Julian J.. 1999. 47. 1. 45–57. PDF. 2007-06-17. 2007-06-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20070617172200/http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/47/47rbz045-057.pdf. dead.
The Bagrid Catfish Genus Hemibagrus (Teleostei: Siluriformes) in Central Indochina with a New Species from the Mekong River. Heok Hee. Ng. Rainboth, Walter J.. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 1999. 47. 2. 555–576. PDF. 2007-06-17. 2007-06-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20070617232427/http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/47/47rbz555-576.pdf. dead.
Miocene fishes from Lake Phetchabun in north-central Thailand, with descriptions of new taxa of Cyprinidae, Pangasiidae, and Chandidae . Tyler R. . Roberts . Junya . Jumnongthai . Natural History Bulletin Siam . 47 . 153–189 . 1999 . PDF.
Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Carl J. Jr.. Ferraris. Zootaxa. 1418. 1–628. 2007. PDF.
Ng, H.H. & Kottelat, M. (2013): Revision of the Asian catfish genus Hemibagrus Bleeker, 1862 (Teleostei: Siluriformes: Bagridae). The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 61 (1): 205-291.