Bagridae

Bagridae Temporal range: Eocene - Recent[1]
Rita rita
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Siluriformes
Superfamily:	Bagroidea
Family:	Bagridae Bleeker, 1858
Genera
Bagrichthys Bagroides Bagrus Batasio Eomacrones † Gobibagrus † Hemibagrus Hemileiocassis Hyalobagrus Leiocassis Mystus Nanobagrus Neotropius Nigerium † Nkondobagrus † Olyra Pelteobagrus Pseudobagrus Pseudomystus Rama Rita Sperata

Bagridae are a family of catfish that originate from Africa and Asia from Japan to Borneo.^[2] These fish are commonly known as naked catfishes or bagrid catfishes.

Large Bagrids are important as food fish. Some species are kept as aquarium fishes.^[2]

Physical Characteristics

The dorsal fin is preceded by a spine (except in Olyra). The adipose fin is present and can have a relatively long base in some species. The pectoral fin spine can be serrated. The body is completely naked (they have no scales). The maximum length is about 1.5 metres (4.9 ft).^[2] Fishes of the Bagridae family have four pairs of well-developed barbels covered by a layer of taste bud-enriched epithelium.^[3]

Taxonomy

The taxonomy of this family has changed rapidly. Nelson (2006) comments how "the family is very different from that recognized in Nelson (1994)". Claroteidae and Austroglanididae contain species that were previously Bagrids. Auchenoglanididae is considered by some sources to be a subfamily of Claroteidae and by others to be its own family, sister to Heptapteridae. The taxonomy of the genus Olyra has been debated.^[2]

It is unclear whether or not the family is monophyletic, and what its relationship to other catfishes might be.^[2]

References

1. ^ Ferraris, Carl J., Jr. (2007). "Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types" (PDF). Zootaxa 1418: 1–628. http://silurus.acnatsci.org/ACSI/library/biblios/2007_Ferraris_Catfish_Checklist.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-25. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Nelson, Joseph S. (2006). Fishes of the World. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-25031-7. 
3. ^ Zhang, Genhua; Deng, Shaoping; Zhang, Haiyun; Li, Hongtao; Li, Leilei (2006). "Distribution of different taste buds and expression of a-gustducin in the barbells of yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco)". Fish Physiology and Biochemistry 32 (1): 55–62. doi:10.1007/s10695-006-6937-z. PMID 20035479.