Systematic position
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Order: Siluriformes (Catfishes)
Superfamily: Bagroidea
Family: Ariidae (Tachysuridae) (Sea catfishes)
Genus: Batrachocephalus
Species: B. mino
Synonyms
Ageneiosus mino Hamilton, 1822
Batrachocephalus ageneiosus Bleeker, 1846
Batrachocephalus micropogon Bleeker, 1858
Common/local names
English: Beardless sea catfish and Frog-headed catfish
Bangladesh: Kata (কাটা) and Katabukha (কাটাবুখা)
Distributions: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the East Indies (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Conservation status: Not threatened in Bangladesh (IUCN Bangladesh, 2000).
Morphology: Body elongate with large, board and depressed head. Wide and terminal mouth, lower jaw slightly longer than upper. Single pair of minute mandibular barbels. Dorsal and pectoral fins with strong and serrated spines.
Body color silvery; dark-brown on back and fins are yellowish.
Fin formula:
D. I/7; P1. I/9-10; P2. 6; A. 18-19 (Rahman, 1989 and 2005)
D I 7; A v 15-16; P I 7-9; V i 5 (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991)
Maximum lengths: 23.5 cm TL (Rahman, 1989 and 2005) and 20 cm SL (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Habitats: Inhibits sea, estuaries and tidal rivers (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991). Found in estuaries and the Bay of Bengal and tidal rivers of Bangladesh (Rahman, 1989 and 2005).
Fishery info: Not esteemed as food (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
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REFERENCES
Bleeker P (1846) Overzigt der Siluroïden, welke te Batavia voorkomen. Natuur-en Geneeskundig Archief voor Neȇrlandsch Indië 3(2): 135-184.
Bleeker P (1858) De visschen van den Indischen Archipel. Beschreven en toegelicht. Siluri. Acta Societatis Regiae Scientiarum Indo-Neêrlandicae 4: i-xii + 1-370.
Hamilton F (1822) An account of the fishes found in the river Ganges and its branches. Edinburgh & London. An account of the fishes found in the river Ganges and its branches.: i-vii + 1-405, Pls. 1-39.
IUCN Bangladesh (2000) Red book of threatened fishes of Bangladesh, IUCN- The world conservation union. xii+116 pp.
Rahman AKA (1989) Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh, 1st edition, Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, pp. 230-231.
Rahman AKA (2005) Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh, 2nd edition, Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, pp. 253-254.
Talwar PK and Jhingran AG (1991) Inland Fishes of India and Adjacent Countries, Vol. 2, Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi-Calcutta, pp. 707-708.
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