Shark catfish
Shark catfish Temporal range:
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Pangasius hypophthalmus
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Siluriformes |
Suborder: | Siluroidei |
Superfamily: | Arioidea |
Family: | Pangasiidae Bleeker, 1858 |
Genera | |
Helicophagus Pangasianodon Pangasius Pseudolais |
The shark catfishes form the family Pangasiidae. They are found in fresh and brackish waters across southern Asia, from Pakistan to Borneo.[1] Among the 30-odd members of this family is the plant-eating, endangered Mekong giant catfish Pangasianodon gigas, one of the largest known freshwater fish.[1] Several species are the basis of productive aquaculture industries in Vietnam's Mekong Delta.
Taxonomy and fossil record
Although Pangasiidae forms a monophyletic group, several studies indicate this group may actually be a subtaxon nested within the family Schilbeidae. Thus, Pangasiidae's familial status may not deserve continued recognition.[2]
Two
Cetopangasius chaetobranchus from the Miocene, and Pangasius indicus, from the Eocene. However, the reported age of P. indicus from the Eocene is debatable, as the Sipang Fauna stratum where it is found has never been officially dated. Therefore, the earliest reliable pangasiid fossil age is of C. chaetobranchus from the Miocene.[2]
Description
The
adipose fins.[1]
References
- ^ ISBN 0-471-25031-7.
- ^ . Retrieved 2009-06-25.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pangasiidae.
- Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2012). "Pangasiidae" in FishBase. February 2012 version.