Bagarius Lica

''Bagarius'' () is an Asian genus of catfishes (order Siluriformes) of the family Sisoridae. It includes five to six extant species and potentially one extinct fossil species, '' B. gigas''.

Species

There are currently five to six extant species placed in ''Bagarius'':
* '' Bagarius bagarius'' (Hamilton, 1822)
* '' Bagarius lica'' Volz, 1903
* '' Bagarius rutilus'' Ng & Kottelat, 2000
* '' Bagarius suchus'' Roberts, 1983 (crocodile catfish)
* '' Bagarius vegrandis'' Ng & Kottelat, 2021 (dwarf goonch catfish)
* '' Bagarius yarrelli'' (Sykes, 1839) (goonch catfish) (doubtfully distinct from '' B. bagarius'')
A 2021 study found the giant devil catfish (''Bagarius yarrelli'') to be synonymous with ''B. bagarius''.

''Bagarius lica'' may be synonymous with ''Bagarius vegrandis''.

One potential fossil species, '' Bagarius gigas,'' is known from the Eocene of Sumatra.

Distribution

''Bagarius'' species inhabit south and southeast Asia. They are distributed in the Indus drainage in Pakistan and India, east (including peninsular India) to the Red River drainage in Vietnam and south throughout Indochina including the Malay Peninsula and Indonesia. ''B. bagarius'' is known from the Ganges River, Chao Phraya River, Chao Phraya, and the Mekong River, Mekong drainages, as well as the Malay Peninsula and the Salween and Mae Klong River, Mae Klong drainages and the Brahmaputra River and Ayeyarwady River. ''B. suchus'' originates from the Mekong and Chao Phraya basins. ''B. rutilus'' inhabits the Red River and Ma River in northern Vietnam.

Fossil record

''B. gigas'' is reportedly from the Eocene of Sumatra, but the age of the locale has been questioned.

The oldest known confirmed sisorid fossil is ''B. bagarius'' found in Sumatra and India of the Pliocene.

Description

''Bagarius'' species have a broad head that is moderately or strongly depressed. The mouth is broad and terminal or slightly inferior. The gill openings are wide. The dorsal fin and pectoral fins have strong spines. The dorsal fin spine is smooth, and the pectoral fin spine is smooth anteriorly and finely serrate posteriorly. The dorsal, pectoral, and caudal fin lobes sometimes with filamentous extensions. The head and body is entirely or almost entirely covered by heavily keratinized skin superficially differentiated into unculiferous plaques or tubercles. ''Bagarius'' species lack a thoracic adhesive apparatus and paired fins are unplaited.

''Bagarius'' species have the same general colour pattern consisting of three darkly pigmented bands or blotches on the body. Irregularly placed spots may also be present on the body. The fin pigmentation varies from species to species, from plain, to spotted, to slightly or heavily barred. Also, some ''B. yarelli'' may have a heavily spotted pattern like a Dalmatian (dog), Dalmatian dog that obscures the main barred pattern.

In ''B. bagarius'', the pelvic fin origin is normally anterior to a vertical line through the base of the last dorsal fin ray, while in ''B. yarelli'' the pelvic fin origin is posterior to this vertical line. Also, in most ''B. bagarius'', the adipose fin originates far back over the anal fin, on a vertical through the base of the third or four anal fin ray. However, in most ''B. yarelli'', the adipose fin originates near or in front of a vertical line through the anal fin origin. In ''B. suchus'', the adipose fin originates even further back than in ''B. bagarius'' or ''B. yarelli''. ''B. suchus'' tends to have a flatter head and body than either ''B. bagarius'' or ''B. yarelli''.

''B. bagarius'' does not grow much past fish measurement, SL. ''B. rutilus'' grows to about SL. ''B. suchus'' grows to about SL. Both ''B. yarelli'' and ''B. lica'' grow very large, reaching about SL.

Ecology

''B. bagarius'' inhabits rapid and rocky pools of large and medium-sized rivers. ''B. suchus'' is usually associated with rapids in the large rivers it inhabits. ''B. yarelli'' occurs in large rivers on the bottom, even with swift current, never entering small streams. It is found among boulders, often in the white water of the rapids where it apparently is indifferent to the strong current.

''B. bagarius'' is primarily entomophagy, entomophagous. It also feeds on small fishes, frogs and shrimps. ''B. suchus'', however, is a piscivore. ''B. yarelli'' feeds primarily on prawns but also eat small fishes and aquatic insects.

''B. bagarius'' breeds in rivers prior to the beginning of the annual flood season.

''B. yarelli'' migrates in schools. It is reported to migrate to follow its prey. It is also reported that it follows ''Catlocarpio siamensis'' during its upstream migration. Apparently the main upstream migration begins close to the peak of flood, when the current is very strong and the water is turbid.

Relationship to humans

''Bagarius'' species are marketed fresh, and are important as a food fish, but the meat spoils rapidly and can cause illness. The goonch catfish ''B. yarrelli'' has become an object of media attention as reports have surfaced of some of these fish feeding on funeral pyres in the Kali River (Uttarakhand), Kali River. There is speculation that some drownings have also been caused by large specimens that have "developed a taste" for human flesh from the corpses and subsequently have attacked bathers in the river. This is the subject of a TV documentary aired on 22 October 2008, as well as an episode about the Kali River goonch attacks on the Animal Planet series ''River Monsters''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1850503

Bagarius,
Freshwater fish of China
Freshwater fish of India
Fish of Pakistan
Fish of South Asia
Fish of Southeast Asia
Fish of Vietnam
Freshwater fish genera
Sisoridae
Catfish genera
Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker