''Austroglanis'' is the only genus in the

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

family Austroglanididae. This family was split off from the

Bagridae The Bagridae are a family of catfish that are native to Africa ('' Bagrus'') and Asia (all other genera) from Japan to Borneo. It includes about 245 species. These fish are commonly known as naked catfishes or bagrid catfishes. Many large bagrid ...

catfish family. All three species of catfishes in the family Austroglanididae are endemic to southern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

(

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

), and two species are

threatened A threatened species is any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which is vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensatio ...

. These fish have three pairs of barbels (they lack nasal barbels). They have strong dorsal and pectoral fin spines. The adipose fin is small.

Species

There are currently three described species in this genus: * ''

Austroglanis barnardi ''Austroglanis barnardi'' is an endangered species of catfish (order Siluriformes). It is one of three members of the family Austroglanididae. It is also known as the spotted rock-catfish or Barnard's rock-catfish. Biology Not much is known ab ...

'' ( P. H. Skelton, 1981) (Barnard's rock-catfish) * ''

Austroglanis gilli The clanwilliam rock-catfish (''Austroglanis gilli'') is a species of catfish in the family Austroglanididae. It is endemic to South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost ...

'' (

Barnard Barnard is a surname of Old English origin, derived from the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon given name "Beornheard". It is composed of two elements: "Beorn," meaning "young warrior" or "bear," and "heard," meaning "hardy," "brave," or "strong." In some ...

, 1943) (Clanwilliam catfish) * ''

Austroglanis sclateri The rock-catfish, ''Austroglanis sclateri'', is a species of catfish in the family Austroglanididae. This freshwater fish is endemic to the Vaal River in South Africa. It is also found in Lesotho and Namibia Namibia, officially the Republi ...

'' ( Boulenger, 1901) (Rock-catfish)

References

Catfish genera {{catfish-stub