Description:
Elongated and compressed body. Mouth large and oblique.
Teeth in villiform bands on the jaws. Maxillary barbels
extends slightly below the posterior border of the
eyes. Mandibular pair very short, almost equal to
one eye diameter. Anal long, inserted well behind
the dorsal fin with 66-71 branched rays. Pectoral
spine serrated on its inner edge. Caudal deeply forked.
Colouration: Silvery-grey with a
faint shoulder spot. Body cloudy all over with black
dots. Habitat:Inhabits
clear as well as muddy rivers, streams, ponds and
lakes. Ompok pabo was described from the
Brahmaputra River towards Assam, India (Hamilton 1822).
It has been distinguished from congeners in the region
in having fewer anal fin rays. However, material that
can definitively assigned to this species it is very
rarely represented in museum collections. This species
has also been recorded from Myanmar, but the identity
of this material remains in doubt (H.H. Ng.). The
population from Myanmar has been described as Callichrous
nigrescens, which has been considered a junior
synonym of Ompok pabo (Jayaram 2006). Conspecificity
of these two species awaits further study (H.H. Ng.).
Remarks:
This species was listed as an endangered species in
the Red List of IUCN Bangladesh (2000) due to loss
of habitats and over-exploitation. The species is
assessed as Near Threatened with urgent need for taxonomic,
harvest and population studies.(IUCN 2010).
Common
Name:
Pabo Catfish
Synonyms:
Silurus pabo, Silurus (Callichrus)
erythrogaster
Family:
Siluridae
Distribution:
Asia:Brahmaputra, Ganges, and Yamuna River basins,
India and Bangladesh; Pakistan; Myanmar. Type
locality: Brahmaputra River, towards Assam.
Size:
25.0cm. (10ins)
Temp:
21-27°C (69-81F)
p.H.
6.0-7.0.
Reference:
Ferraris, C.J. Jr.,
2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes:
Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary
types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628. Ng, H.H. & Tenzin, K. 2010. Ompok
pabo. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010:
e.T166583A6241214. Rahman, Ataur; Chowdhury, W. Gawsia; Encyclopedia
of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh. Vol.23. Freshwater
Fishes. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. 300p Talwar, P.K. and A.G. Jhingran, 1991.
Inland fishes of India and adjacent countries. Volume
2. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam.
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