Mystus cavasius (Hamilton, 1822)
Gangetic mystus
photo by Khan, M.M.

Family:  Bagridae (Bagrid catfishes)
Max. size:  40 cm SL (male/unsexed); max.weight: 10,000.0 g
Environment:  demersal; freshwater; brackish, amphidromous
Distribution:  Asia: lowland rivers in most major basins of the Indian subcontinent (Pakistan, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar), including but not limited to the Indus, Brahmaputra-Ganges, Krishna, Cauvery, Irrawaddy, Salween and Tenasserim. Reports of this species from the Chao Phraya and Mekong basins, Malaysia, and Indonesia are based on misidentifications of Mystus albolineatus or Mystus singaringan. Occurs in Thailand, but only in the Salween basin.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 1-1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 7-7; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 10-11. Body elongate and compressed; head conical; occipital process narrow. Maxillary barbels, in adults, extend posteriorly beyond the caudal fin base, but in young specimen, do not extend beyond the anal fin. Dorsal spine weak, often feebly serrated. Color is grayish with a more or less well-defined midlateral longitudinal stripe. A dark spot emphasized by a white or pale area along its ventral margin is just anterior to the first dorsal spine. Dorsal, adipose and caudal fins shaded with melanophores.
Biology:  Found in tidal rivers and lakes; also beels, canals, ditches, ponds, and inundated fields. Its pectoral spine can cause painful wounds (Ref. 4833). Found in the basin-wide tributary of the lower Mekong (Ref. 36667). Oviparous, distinct pairing possibly like other members of the same family (Ref. 205).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 05 October 2009 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  venomous


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