''Wallagonia'' is a recently established genus of silurid

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, containing 3 distinct species, all of whom are native to

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 ...

: *''

Wallagonia leerii ''Wallagonia leerii'', also known as the Tapah and formerly the striped wallago catfish is a species of catfish native to Southeast Asia. Its habitat ranges from the river drainages of Thailand through the Malayan peninsula to the islands of Suma ...

'' *''

Wallagonia maculatus ''Wallagonia'' is a recently established genus of silurid catfishes, containing 3 distinct species, all of whom are native to Southeast Asia: *''Wallagonia leerii'' *'' Wallagonia maculatus'' *'' Wallagonia micropogon'' For the longest time, t ...

'' *''

Wallagonia micropogon ''Wallagonia micropogon'' is a species of catfish in the genus ''Wallagonia''. This species was recently discovered and is found in the Mekong River drainage area between southern Vietnam and northern Laos as well as Chao Phraya River in Thailan ...

'' For the longest time, these species were included in the genus

Wallago ''Wallago'' is a genus of catfishes order Siluriformes of the family Siluridae, or sheatfish. They are found in rivers throughout southern and southeastern Asia. The only extant species of this genus is '' Wallago attu''. Taxonomy The monophyly ...

, only in 2014 the separate genus Wallagonia was finally established based on osteological features that clearly separate the two.Roberts, T.R. (2014): ''Wallago Bleeker, 1851 and Wallagonia Myers, 1938 (Ostariophysi, Siluridae), Distinct Genera of Tropical Asian Catfishes, with Description of †Wallago maemohensis from the Miocene of Thailand.'' Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History, 55 (1): 35-47. doi:10.3374/014.055.0103 While ''W. leerii'' is spread widely throughout Southeast Asia, ''W. micropogon'' and ''W. maculatus'' have a highly restricted habitat, with ''W. micropogon'' only occurring in the

Mekong river The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth-longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third-longest in Asia with an estimated l ...

basin and ''W. maculatus'' only occurring in the

Kinabatangan river The Kinabatangan River () is a river in Sandakan Division, in eastern Sabah, Malaysia. It is the second longest river in Malaysia, with a length of from its headwaters in the mountains of southwest Sabah to its outlet at the Sulu Sea, east of ...

basin on the island of

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

. As the sole difference from ''W. leerii'' seems to be a slightly different coloration, biologists are doubtful that they are distinct species at all, instead probably being local subspecies of ''W. leerii''. However, until further research has been performed, they are regarded as valid species.

References

Siluridae Fish of Asia Freshwater fish genera Catfish genera Taxa named by George S. Myers {{catfish-stub