Wallago

Wallago is a genus of catfishes order Siluriformes of the family Siluridae, or sheatfish. They are found in rivers throughout southern and southeastern Asia.[1] The only extant species of this genus is Wallago attu.

Wallago
Wallago attu
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Siluriformes
Family: Siluridae
Genus: Wallago
Bleeker, 1851
Type species
Silurus muelleri
Bleeker 1846
Synonyms

Silurodon Kner, 1866

Taxonomy

The monophyly of this genus is ambiguous and it is not diagnosed by any synapomorphies.[1][2]

Species

There are currently 2 recognized species in this genus, of which only one is recent:

For a long time, the Wallago genus was thought to include more species, namely Wallagonia leerii (helicopter catfish), Wallagonia maculatus and Wallagonia micropogon. However, a close investigation by Tyson R. Roberts of their osteological features yielded that all these species actually belong to two entirely separate genera of catfishes, and subsequently all species other than Wallago attu and the extinct Wallago maemohensis were re-categorized into the genus Wallagonia. Additionally, it was found that Wallago and Wallagonia are not particularly closely related within the family of Siluridae.[3]

Wallago hexanema is currently considered a species inquirenda.[4]

Description

The wallago species are large, predatory catfishes.[1] They have five rays in their dorsal fin. The caudal fin is deeply forked and has pointed lobes; it is disconnected from the anal fin, which differs from some of the other silurid genera.[1]

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References
  1. Ng, H.H. (2004). "Wallago micropogon: A New Species of Silurid Catfish (Teleostei: Siluridae) from Mainland Southeast Asia". Copeia. 2004 (1): 92–97. doi:10.1643/ci-02-192r3.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  2. Roberts, T.R. (1982). "Systematics and Geographical Distribution of the Asian Silurid Catfish Genus Wallago, with a Key to the Species". Copeia. 1982 (4): 890–894. doi:10.2307/1444099.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  3. Roberts, T.R. (2014): Wallago Bleeker, 1851 and Wallagonia Myers, 1938 (Ostariophysi, Siluridae), Distinct Genera of Tropical Asian Catfishes, with Description of †Wallago maemohensis from the Miocene of Thailand. Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History, 55 (1): 35-47. doi:10.3374/014.055.0103
  4. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2014). "Wallago hexanema" in FishBase. July 2014 version.
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