''Kryptopterus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 ...

es belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Siluridae Siluridae is the nominate family (biology), family of catfishes in the order (biology), order Siluriformes. About 105 living species of silurids are placed in 12 or 14 genera. Although silurids occur across much of Europe and Asia, they are most ...

. They are found in

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

throughout

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. The

scientific name In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

comes from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

''kryptós'' (κρυπτός, "hidden") + ''ptéryx'' (πτέρυξ, "fin"). It refers to the reduced or even entirely absent

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

of these catfishes. These small- to medium-sized catfishes have opaque, transparent or translucent bodies, hence their common name Asian glass catfishes. Despite this name, only three described species have clearly transparent bodies: '' K. minor'', '' K. piperatus'' and '' K. vitreolus''.Ng, H-H. and M. Kottelat (2013). ''After eighty years of misidentification, a name for the glass catfish (Teleostei: Siluridae)'' Zootaxa 3630: 308–316. Most significant among these is the ghost catfish (''K. vitreolus''), which is the "glass catfish" most often seen in the

aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

fish trade. This species was initially confused with the larger glass catfish (''K. bicirrhis''; infrequent in aquarium trade) and subsequently with ''K. minor'' (essentially absent from aquarium trade). This matter was only fully resolved in 2013.SeriouslyFish:
Kryptopterus vitreolus.
' Retrieved 18 July 2014.

Species

While 18

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

have been described as of 2013, the genus ''Kryptopterus'' is notoriously rich in

cryptic species In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

. A number of these have been recognized in recent years, and more are likely to follow: * '' Kryptopterus baramensis'' H. H. Ng, 2002 * '' Kryptopterus bicirrhis'' (

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

, 1840) * '' Kryptopterus cheveyi'' Durand, 1940 * '' Kryptopterus cryptopterus'' ( Bleeker, 1851)(blue sheatfish) * '' Kryptopterus dissitus'' H. H. Ng, 2001 (Indochinese sheatfish) * '' Kryptopterus geminus'' H. H. Ng, 2003 * '' Kryptopterus hesperius'' H. H. Ng, 2002 (Maeklong sheatfish) * '' Kryptopterus lais'' ( Bleeker, 1851) * '' Kryptopterus limpok'' ( Bleeker, 1852) (Long-barbel sheatfish) * ''

Kryptopterus lumholtzi ''Kryptopterus'' is a genus of catfishes belonging to the family Siluridae. They are found in freshwater throughout Southeast Asia. The scientific name comes from Ancient Greek ''kryptós'' (κρυπτός, "hidden") + ''ptéryx'' (πτέρυξ, ...

'' Rendahl ( de), 1922 * '' Kryptopterus macrocephalus'' ( Bleeker, 1858) (Striped glass catfish) * '' Kryptopterus minor'' Roberts, 1989 (Ghost catfish, glass catfish) * '' Kryptopterus mononema'' ( Bleeker, 1846) * '' Kryptopterus palembangensis'' ( Bleeker, 1852) * '' Kryptopterus paraschilbeides'' H. H. Ng, 2003 * '' Kryptopterus piperatus'' H. H. Ng, Wirjoatmodjo & Hadiaty, 2004 * '' Kryptopterus schilbeides'' ( Bleeker, 1858) * '' Kryptopterus vitreolus'' H. H. Ng & Kottelat, 2013 (Ghost catfish, phantom catfish, ghost fish, glass catfish)Ng, H.H. & Kottelat, M. (2013): After eighty years of misidentification, a name for the glass catfish (Teleostei: Siluridae). ''Zootaxa, 3630 (2): 308–316.'', Some species formerly placed in ''Kryptopterus'' are nowadays in other

genera, in particular '' Phalacronotus'' but also '' Micronema'' and '' Pterocryptis''.

References

Siluridae Freshwater fish genera Catfish genera Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker {{catfish-stub