Clarias

Clarias Temporal range: Lower Pliocene - Recent
Walking catfish, Clarias batrachus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Siluriformes
Family:	Clariidae
Genus:	Clarias Scopoli, 1777
Species
Many, see text.
Synonyms
Chlarias Scopoli, 1777 Macropteronotus La Cepède, 1803 Clarias Cuvier, 1816 Cossyphus M’Clelland, 1844 Phagorus M’Clelland, 1844 Dinotopteroides Fowler, 1930 Prophagorus Smith, 1939 Anguilloclarias Teugels, 1982 Brevicephaloides Teugels, 1982 Clarioides Teugels, 1982 Platycephaloides Teugels, 1982

Yam pladuk fu (Thai: ยำปลาดุกฟู): shredded and deep fried Clarias (Pla duk) catfish with salad

Clarias is a genus of catfishes (order Siluriformes) of the family Clariidae, the airbreathing catfishes. The name is derived from the Greek chlaros, which means lively, in reference to the ability of the fish to live for a long time out of water.^[1]

Taxonomy

Clarias has been found to be paraphyletic. It has been found that a species of Heterobranchus (H. longifilis) clusters deeply inside the Clarias group.^[2]

Distribution

They are found in inland waters throughout much of the Old World, and is one of the most widespread catfish genera in the world.^[3][4] The genus is found in Southeast Asia and East Asia westwards through India and the Asia Minor to Africa.^[5] The diversity of these catfishes is highest in Africa.^[6] Some (notably the Walking catfish) have become pest species where they have been accidentally introduced.

Description

Clarias species are recognized by their long-based dorsal and anal fins, which give them a rather eel-like appearance. These fish have slender bodies, a flat bony head, and a broad, terminal mouth with four pairs of barbels. They also have a large, accessory breathing organ composed of modified gill arches.^[3][5] Also, only the pectoral fins have spines.^[7]

Relationship to humans

Many of the species are of great economic importance in both fisheries and fish culture.^[6]

Species

Species according to Ferraris, 2007^[8] and Ng, Dang & Nguyan, 2011^[9].

African species

Clarias agboyiensis Clarias albopunctatus Clarias alluaudi Alluaud's catfish Clarias angolensis Clarias anguillaris Mudfish Clarias brachysoma Clarias buettikoferi Clarias buthupogon Clarias camerunensis Clarias cavernicola Cave catfish Clarias dhonti Clarias dialonensis Clarias dumerilii Clarias dussumieri Clarias ebriensis Clarias engelseni Clarias gabonensis Clarias gariepinus

Clarias hilli Clarias jaensis *Clarias laeviceps Clarias lamottei Clarias liocephalus Smoothhead catfish Clarias longior Clarias maclareni Clarias macromystax Clarias ngamensis Blunt-toothed African catfish Clarias nigromarmoratus Clarias pachynema Clarias platycephalus Clarias salae Clarias stappersii Blotched catfish Clarias submarginatus Clarias teijsmanni Clarias theodorae Snake catfish Clarias werneri

South Asian species

• Clarias dayi

Southeast Asian species

• Clarias anfractus Ng, 1999
• Walking catfish, Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus, 1758)
• Clarias batu Lim & Ng, 1999^[5]
• Clarias cataractus (Fowler, 1939)
• Clarias fuscus La Cepède, 1803
• Clarias gracilentus Ng, Dang & Nguyan, 2011^[9]
• Clarias insolitus Ng, 2003^[3]
• Clarias intermedius Teugels, Pouyaud & Sudarto, 2001^[6]
• Clarias kapuasensis Sudarto, Teugels & Pouyaud, 2003
• Clarias leiacanthus Bleeker, 1851
• Broadhead catfish, Clarias macrocephalus Günther, 1864
• Blackskin catfish, Clarias meladerma Bleeker, 1846
• Clarias microspilus Ng & Hadiaty, 2011^[10]
• Clarias microstomus Ng, 2001^[4]
• Clarias nieuhofii Valenciennes in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1840
• Clarias nigricans Ng, 2003^[11]
• Clarias olivaceus Fowler, 1904
• Clarias planiceps Ng, 1999
• Clarias pseudoleiacanthus Sudarto, Teugels & Pouyaud, 2003
• Clarias pseduonieuhofii Sudarto, Teugels & Pouyaud, 2004^[7]
• Clarias sulcatus Ng, 2004

Fossil species

• Clarias falconeri † Lydekker, 1886, from India

Invasive species

Clarias catfish and primarely Clarias batrachus (walking catfish) has been introduced to many different areas of the world where they are causing problems for the native wildlife. The effect of introduction of clarias catfish varies from area to area but as they are predatory fish they often impact the local wildlife by eating other fish, birds and amphibians. In Florida the fish is causing problems by invading aquaculture farms and prey on the fish cultivated there.^[12] Countries where one or several Clarias species have been introduced includes Indonesia, USA, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, UK, Papua New Guinea, Guam, Taiwan, Thailand and Cuba.

References

1. ^ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2007). Species of Clarias in FishBase. Aug 2007 version.
2. ^ Mwita, CJ; Nkwengulila, G. (2008). "Molecular phylogeny of the clariid fishes of Lake Victoria, Tanzania, inferred from cytochrome b DNA sequences". Journal of Fish Biology 73 (5): 1139–1148. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2008.01935.x. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Ng, Heok Hee (2003). "Clarias insolitus, a new species of clariid catfish (Teleostei: Siluriformes) from southern Borneo" (PDF). Zootaxa 284: 1–8. http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2003f/zt00284.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-24. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Ng, Heok Hee (2001). "Clarias microstomus, a New Species of Clariid Catfish from Eastern Borneo (Teleostei: Siluriformes)" (PDF). Zoological Studies 40 (2): 158–162. http://zoolstud.sinica.edu.tw/Journals/40.2/158-162.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-24. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} Lim, Kelvin K. P.; Ng, H. H. (1999). "Clarias batu, a New Species of Catfish (Teleostei: Clariidae) from Pulau Tioman, Peninsular Malaysia" (PDF). The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology (6): 157–167. http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/s6/s6rbz157-167.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-24. 
6. ^ ^{a b c} Teugels, Guy G.; Sudarto; Pouyaud, Laurent (2001) (PDF). Description of a New Clarias Species from Southeast Asia Based on Morphological and Genetical Evidence (Siluriformes, Clariidae). 25. pp. 81–92. http://www.mnhn.fr/sfi/cybium/numeros/pdf/251pdf/11.teugels.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-24. 
7. ^ ^{a b} Sudarto; Teugels, Guy G.; Pouyaud, Laurent (2004). "Description of a New Clariid Catfish, Clarias pseudonieuhofii from West Borneo (Siluriformes: Clariidae)" (PDF). Zoological Studies 43 (1): 8–19. http://zoolstud.sinica.edu.tw/Journals/43.1/8.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-24. 
8. ^ Ferraris, Carl J., Jr. (2007). "Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types" (PDF). Zootaxa 1418: 1–628. http://silurus.acnatsci.org/ACSI/library/biblios/2007_Ferraris_Catfish_Checklist.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-24. 
9. ^ ^{a b} Ng, H. H., Dang, K. H. and Nguyan, V. T. (2011). "Clarias gracilentus, a new walking catfish (Teleostei: Clariidae) from Vietnam and Cambodia". Zootaxa 2823: 61–68. http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2011/f/z02823p068f.pdf 
10. ^ Ng HH & Hadiaty Rk (2011) Clarias microspilus, a new walking catfish (Teleostei: Clariidae) from northern Sumatra, Indonesia. Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(3): 1577-1584. http://www.threatenedtaxa.org/ZooPrintJournal/2011/March/ng.htm
11. ^ Ng, Heok Hee (2003). "Clarias nigricans, a New Species of Clariid Catfish (Teleostei: Siluriformes) from Eastern Borneo" (PDF). The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 51 (2): 393–398. http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/51/51rbz393-398.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-24. 
12. ^ issg Database: ecology of Clarias batrachus

External links