Systematic position
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Order: Siluriformes (Catfishes)
Superfamily: Bagroidea
Family: Ariidae (Tachysuridae) (Sea catfishes)
Genus: Osteogeneiosus
Species: O. militaris
Synonyms
Osteogeneiosus blochii Bleeker, 1846
Osteogeneiosus cantoris Bleeker, 1854
Osteogeneiosus gracilis Bleeker, 1846
Osteogeneiosus ingluvies Bleeker, 1846
Osteogeneiosus longiceps Bleeker, 1846
Osteogeneiosus macrocephalus Bleeker, 1846
Osteogeneiosus sthenocephalus Day, 1877
Osteogeneiosus valenciennesi Bleeker, 1846
Silurus militaris Linnaeus, 1758
Common/local names
English: Soldier catfish
Bangladesh: Apuia (অপুয়া)
Distributions: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and East Indies (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Conservation status: Not threatened in Bangladesh (IUCN Bangladesh, 2000).
Morphology: Body elongate with depressed head. Head shield rather smooth. Mouth moderate, upper jaw porjecting and single pair of maxillary barbels. Strong and serrated spine in pectoral and dorsal fins.
Body color dark blue eith whitish reflection on head and back and silvery beneath dotted with black. Minutely dotted fins are grayish white. Dorsal an adipose fins tips are dark blue.
Fin formula:
D. I/7; P1. I/9-10; P2. 6; A. 19-21 (Rahman, 1989 and 2005)
D I 7; A iv-v 15-17; P I 10-11; V i 5 (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991)
Maximum lengths: 2.2 cm TL (Rahman, 1989 and 2005) and 25 cm SL (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991).
Habitats: Inhibits sea, estuaries and tidal rivers (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991). Found in estuaries, the Bay of Bengal of Bangladesh, also ascends rivers (Rahman, 1989 and 2005). Recorded from Meghna river (Rahman, 1989 and 2005; IUCN Bangladesh, 2000).
Food and feeding: Feeds primarily on invertebrates and small fish (Rahman, 1989 and 2005).
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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 (1854) Nieuwe tientallen diagnostische beschrijvingen van nieuwe of weinig bekende vischsoorten van Sumatra. Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië 5: 495-534.
Day F (1877) The fishes of India; being a natural history of the fishes known to inhabit the seas and fresh waters of India, Burma, and Ceylon. The fishes of India; being a natural history of the fishes known to inhabit the seas and fresh waters of India, Burma, and Ceylon. Part 3: 369-552, Pls. 79-138.
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. 229-230.
Rahman AKA (2005) Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh, 2nd edition, Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, pp. 252-253.
Talwar PK and Jhingran AG (1991) Inland Fishes of India and Adjacent Countries, Vol. 2, Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi-Calcutta, p. 711.
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