Systematic position
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Order: Siluriformes (Catfishes)
Superfamily: Bagroidea
Family: Ariidae (Tachysuridae) (Sea catfishes)
Genus: Arius
Species: A. gagora
Synonyms
Pimelodus gagora Hamilton, 1822
Tachysurus gagora (Hamilton, 1822)
Common/local names
English: Gagora catfish
Bangladesh: Gagla (গাগলা), Ghagra (ঘাগরা) and Ghunga (ঘুংগা)
Distributions: Bangladesh and India (West Bengal and Orissa) (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Conservation status: Data Deficient in Bangladesh (IUCN Bangladesh, 2000).
Morphology: Body elongate with depressed head. Mouth narrow, sub-terminal and three pairs of barbels. Maxillary barbels reaching pectoral base. Pectoral and dorsal spines are equal in length. Median groove on head is shallow anteriorly and pointed posteriorly.
Body color dull brown above and fading to dull white on flanks and belly. Fins are blackish and adipose fin with a blackish spot.
Fin formula:
D. I/7; P1. I/10; P2. 6; A. 18 (5/13) (Rahman, 1989 and 2005)
D I 7; A v-vi 12-13; P I 10; V i 5 (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991)
Maximum lengths: 20.7 cm TL (Rahman, 1989 and 2005) and 25 cm SL (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Habitats: Estuaries and tidal rivers (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991). Found in estuaries, tidal rivers and the Bay of Bengal of Bangladesh (Rahman, 1989 and 2005). Available in Hooghly estuary (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991) and Meghna river (Rahman, 1989 and 2005).
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REFERENCES
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. 232-233.
Rahman AKA (2005) Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh, 2nd edition, Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, pp. 255-256.
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. 702-703.
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