Wallagonia leerii
| Wallagonia leerii | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Siluridae |
| Genus: | Wallagonia |
| Species: | W. leerii
|
| Binomial name | |
| Wallagonia leerii (Bleeker, 1851)
| |
| Synonyms | |
Wallagonia leerii, also known as the striped wallago catfish, helicopter catfish, or Tapah is a species of catfish native to Southeast Asia. Its habitat ranges from the river drainages of Thailand through the Malayan peninsula to the islands of Sumatra and Borneo in Indonesia.[1] It can grow up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in length and weigh up to 150 kg (330 lb).[1] It has been used as food in Southeast Asia since ancient times.[2] Overfishing for its prized meat has caused the population to significantly decrease. Furthermore, the breeding migration pattern of this fish is especially vulnerable to damming, which has also decreased the wild population significantly.
Until osteological research validated the genus Wallagonia in 2014, W. leerii was included in the genus Wallago.[1]
The other two species of the genus Wallagonia, W. micropogon from the Mekong river basin and W. maculatus from the Kinabatangan river basin on Borneo, are currently considered as distinct species. There are, however, strong suspicions that these may in fact be subspecies of W. leerii, as the sole difference seems to lie in a slightly different coloration.[1]
Mating[]
In July, adults migrate downstream to flooded grasslands to spawn. At night, the eggs are spawned near the surface.[3]
References[]
- ^ a b c d e f 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.
- ^ Charles Higham, A. Kijnga ed. The Origins of the Civilization of Angkor: Volume VI The Iron Age. page 43. IV 'The Fish Remains'
- ^ "Wallago leeri". Mekong River Commission. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
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- IUCN Red List critically endangered species
- Siluridae
- Fish described in 1851
- Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker
- Siluriformes stubs