Glyptothorax cavia • Sisoridae • Cat-eLog • PlanetCatfish

Collected from the Kosi River, Nepal
Collected from the Kosi River, Nepal
Collected from the Kosi River, Nepal
Collected from the Kosi River, Nepal
Sankosh river, West Bengal,India
Sankosh river, West Bengal,India
Closeup of the thoracic adhesive apparatus.

Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name	**Glyptothorax cavia** (Hamilton, 1822)
Common Name(s)	None
Type Locality	Rivers of northern Bengal.
Synonym(s)	Euglyptosternum lineatum, Glyptosternum cavia, Glyptothorax burmancius, Glyptothorax lineatus, Pimelodus cavia
Pronunciation	Gleep toe thor axe - caa vee a
Etymology	The generic name comes from the Greek glyptos, meaning carved, and thorax, meaning breastplate (or the part of the body covered by it), in reference to the folds of skin comprising the thoracic adhesive apparatus.
Species Information
Size	210mm (8.3") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	Sisorid catfishes of the genus Glyptothorax Blyth are benthic inhabitants of torrential waters of rivers and streams in montane and submontane parts of tropical Asia. The members of the genus are adapted to attach themselves to rocks and boulders against strong currents by means of a thoracic adhesive apparatus comprising grooves and folded pleats of skin parallel or oblique to the longitudinal axis of the body. The genus has a wide distribution, ranging from Turkey and Syria in the west, to India and China in the east, and extending further southeastward to Indonesia. With 84 nominal species, Glyptothorax are the most speciose genus of catfishes in Asia (Eschmeyer et al., 1998, Ng, 2005); 67 species were treated as valid by Thomson & Page (2006). G. cavia is distinct in having the following combination of characters: body depth at dorsal fin origin 25.7-26.0% SL; head high, its depth at nape 68.3-69.5 and at eye 51.8-54.3% HL; upper jaw tooth band: A-P extent 20.4-21.6 and lateral extent 43.5-44.5% HL, A-P extent 47.3-48.6% its lateral extent, its lateral extent equal to that of lower band; teeth band on lower jaw: divided only by narrow partition that is not projecting, its A-P extent 9.5-10.2 and lateral extent 43.2-44.5% HL; thoracic adhesive apparatus with a deep pit, its length 47.1-48.5% HL;caudal fin forked; skin sparsely granulated, with dark brown spots.
Sexing	Not known.
Habitat Information
Distribution	Asia: Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and China Indian waters (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) Pakistan Waters (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) Myanmar Waters (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) Bangladesh Waters (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there)
Other Parameters	The water should be cool and heavily oxygenated with a good flow as these fish occur in hill streams. Anything above 25 C will hamper long term survival as these fish tend to burn away at higher temperatures.
Husbandry Information
Feeding	Is known to take only live food like blood worms, frozen brine shrimp etc. Spot feeding will help in case tank mates are voracious feeders.
Furniture	Fine sand for the bottom and smooth pebbles / rocks.
Compatibility	A peaceful species suitable for a hillstream biotope.
Suggested Tankmates	Cyprinids like Barilius and Danios and Balitorine loaches like Homaloptera species.
Breeding	Unreported.
Further Information
References	Fishes Ganges - pp188, 378 Fishes Of The Genus Glyptothorax Blyth (Teleostei : Sisoridae) From Manipur,India, With Description Of Three New Species - W. Vishwanath and I. Linthoingambi
Registered Keepers	None. Add this species to your "my cats" page.
Breeding Reports	None.
More Resources	- Search Planet Catfish for more on Glyptothorax cavia - BBcode (for use in linking to this page from forum posts) - Look up Glyptothorax cavia on AquaticRepublic.com - Look up Glyptothorax cavia on Fishbase, I.T.I.S. or ispecies search. - URL (for use in linking to the species from anywhere on the web)
Hits	2938 hits.
Last Update	2011 Dec 30 04:15 (species record created: 2004 Dec 04 00:00)

Cat-eLog Data Sheet

Scientific Name

Glyptothorax cavia (Hamilton, 1822)

Common Name(s)

None

Type Locality

Rivers of northern Bengal.

Synonym(s)

Euglyptosternum lineatum, Glyptosternum cavia, Glyptothorax burmancius, Glyptothorax lineatus, Pimelodus cavia

Pronunciation

Gleep toe thor axe - caa vee a

Etymology

The generic name comes from the Greek glyptos, meaning carved, and thorax, meaning breastplate (or the part of the body covered by it), in reference to the folds of skin comprising the thoracic adhesive apparatus.

Species Information

Size

210mm (8.3") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.

Identification

Sisorid catfishes of the genus Glyptothorax Blyth are benthic inhabitants of torrential waters of rivers and streams in montane and submontane parts of tropical Asia. The members of the genus are adapted to attach themselves to rocks and boulders against strong currents by means of a thoracic adhesive apparatus comprising grooves and folded pleats of skin parallel or oblique to the longitudinal axis of the body. The genus has a wide distribution, ranging from Turkey and Syria in the west, to India and China in the east, and extending further southeastward to Indonesia. With 84 nominal species, Glyptothorax are the most speciose genus of catfishes in Asia (Eschmeyer et al., 1998, Ng, 2005); 67 species were treated as valid by Thomson & Page (2006).

G. cavia is distinct in having the following combination of characters: body depth at dorsal fin origin 25.7-26.0% SL; head high, its depth at nape 68.3-69.5 and at eye 51.8-54.3% HL; upper jaw tooth band: A-P extent 20.4-21.6 and lateral extent 43.5-44.5% HL, A-P extent 47.3-48.6% its lateral extent, its lateral extent equal to that of lower band; teeth band on lower jaw: divided only by narrow partition that is not projecting, its A-P extent 9.5-10.2 and lateral extent 43.2-44.5% HL; thoracic adhesive apparatus with a deep pit, its length 47.1-48.5% HL;caudal fin forked; skin sparsely granulated, with dark brown spots.

Sexing

Not known.

Habitat Information

Distribution

Asia: Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and China
Indian waters (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there)
Pakistan Waters (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there)
Myanmar Waters (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there)
Bangladesh Waters (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there)

Other Parameters

The water should be cool and heavily oxygenated with a good flow as these fish occur in hill streams. Anything above 25 C will hamper long term survival as these fish tend to burn away at higher temperatures.

Husbandry Information

Feeding

Is known to take only live food like blood worms, frozen brine shrimp etc. Spot feeding will help in case tank mates are voracious feeders.

Furniture

Fine sand for the bottom and smooth pebbles / rocks.

Compatibility

A peaceful species suitable for a hillstream biotope.

Suggested Tankmates

Cyprinids like Barilius and Danios and Balitorine loaches like Homaloptera species.

Breeding

Unreported.

Further Information

References

Fishes Ganges - pp188, 378 Fishes Of The Genus Glyptothorax Blyth (Teleostei : Sisoridae) From Manipur,India, With Description Of Three New Species - W. Vishwanath and I. Linthoingambi

Registered Keepers

None.

Add this species to your "my cats" page.

Breeding Reports

None.

More Resources

- Search Planet Catfish for more on Glyptothorax cavia
Link

- BBcode (for use in linking to this page from forum posts)
Look up AquaticRepublic.com

- Look up Glyptothorax cavia on AquaticRepublic.com
Look up Fishbase

- Look up Glyptothorax cavia on Fishbase, I.T.I.S. or ispecies search.
Link

- URL (for use in linking to the species from anywhere on the web)

Hits

2938 hits.

Last Update

2011 Dec 30 04:15 (species record created: 2004 Dec 04 00:00)

Length Convertor (Hide)
Value	From	To	Result

Temperature Convertor (Hide)
Value	From	To	Result

Volume Convertor (Hide)
Value	From	To	Result

Who is online