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Aceroichthys dioctes (Kailola 2000)

Image contributors to this species:

Dave Wilson (1) Australian National Fish Collection FOA (1)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

Description: Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 7; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 17 - 21; Vertebrae: 49 - 50. Teeth strong, non-depressible; in narrow bands in jaws and in four patches arranged across front palate. Snout prominent, jaw teeth exposed; mouth wide. Head somewhat venulosus, head shield almost smooth. Eye small, free of head skin, 6-14% HL. No rakers on posterior face of first two arches; gill opening wide. Habitat: Inhabits coastal and lower mangrove areas, estuaries into main rivers and lagoons. Colouration: Body orange-yellow; lips, inside mouth and body usually covered with orange or yellow mucus, and teeth usually reddish. Etymology: The genus name Aceroichthys: in honour of Colombian ichthyologist Arturo Acero P. (b. 1954), for his “valuable” contributions to ariid taxonomy; ichthys, fish. The species epithet "dioctes", derived from Ancient Greek, refers to the species' hunting qualities. Remarks: It was described by Patricia J. Kailola in 2000, originally under the genus Arius. It inhabits marine and freshwaters in New Guinea and Australia and it reaches a standard length of 120cm (47ins), and a maximum weight of 19 kg (42 lb). On some online searches this species is still listed as Hemiarius dioctes.

Common Name:

Warrior catfish

Synonyms:

Arius dioctes, Hemiarius dioctes

Family:

Ariidae

Distribution:

Western Central Pacific: Southern coast of New Guinea and rivers from Kamora River to Otokwa River, and eastward to Gulf of Papua rivers; northern coast and rivers of Australia from Adelaide to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Type locality: Norman River at Karumba (17º29'S, 140º50'E), Queensland, Australia.

Size:

120.0cm. (48ins)

Temp:

p.H.

Reference:

Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2019. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, ( 12/2019 ).
Hemiarius dioctes in Fishes of Australia, accessed 03 Sep 2020.
Kailola, P.J., 2000. Six new species of fork-tailed catfishes (Pisces, Teleostei, Ariidae) from Australia and New Guinea. Beagle, Rec. Mus. Art Galler. North. Territ. 16:127-144.
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.

Family: Ariidae Back to Ident-A-Cat Click on Thumbnails

Aceroichthys dioctes
Juvenile

Aceroichthys dioctes
Holotype-as Arius

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