/bagridae/mystus/tengara/1.jpg "Mystus tengara(1) - Click to enlarge")
/bagridae/mystus/tengara/2.jpg "Mystus tengara(2) - Click to enlarge")
/bagridae/mystus/tengara/3.jpg "Mystus tengara(3) - Click to enlarge")
/bagridae/mystus/tengara/4.jpg "Mystus tengara(4) - Click to enlarge")
/bagridae/mystus/tengara/5.jpg "Mystus tengara(5) Leucistic specimen - West Bengal, India - Click to enlarge")
/bagridae/mystus/tengara/6.jpg "Mystus tengara(6) Leucistic specimen - West Bengal, India - Click to enlarge")
 Cat-eLog Data Sheet | |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Mystus tengara (Hamilton, 1822) |
| Common Name(s) | Guinea Catfish, Pyjama catfish, Tengara Catfish |
| Type Locality | Ponds of N. Bengal. |
| Synonym(s) | Macrones tengara, Pimelodus tengara |
| Pronunciation | miss tuss - ten gar ah |
| Etymology | The generic name is probably derived from the Latin mystax, meaning moustache, in reference to the long barbels. It was first used by Scopoli in 1777 making it a very old genus that has included many catfishes from throughout the world at one time or another. The specific epithet, tengara is probably derived from the local name of the fish. |
| Species Information | |
| Size | 80mm (3.1") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp. |
| Identification | Fishes of the genus Mystus Scopoli are small to medium-sized bagrid catfishes occurring in South Asia. Roberts (1994) recognized Mystus to have an elongate cranial fontanel reaching up to the base of the occipital process, long maxillary barbel, very long adipose fin, 11–30 gill rakers on the first gill arch and 37–46 total vertebrae, about equally divided between abdominal and caudal regions. He included only eight species under the genus. Mo (1991) characterized the genus to have a thin needle-like first infraorbital, twisted and thickened metapterygoid loosely attached to the quadrate by means of ligament or a small extent of cartilage. Jayaram & Sanyal (2003) and Ferraris (2007) respectively listed 44 and 33 species of Mystus as valid.
Hamilton-Buchanan described this species and M. carcio in 'An Account of the Fishes of the Ganges', 1822 (the original species descriptions can be read here: http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/doc_home?elib_id=3060). As is well known, the labeling of the plates in this book (unfortunately not reproduced in the web version cited above) is a bit mixed up, and this applies to the plates for M. tengara and < em>M. carcio. This has contributed to the confusion on these fish. If one follows this original description, M. tengara is a fish that is very similar to (and may even be a junior synonym of) M. vittatus. It appears that M. carcio is actually the earliest and thus correct name for this small species. This fact appears to have been missed, or at least left uncorrected, by those working with these fishes and it continues to be universally known as M. tengara. This species is easily distinguished by its small size, golden yellow color, and small adipose fin. |
| Sexing | Males have an elongate genital papilla in front of the anal fin. |
| Habitat Information | |
| Distribution | Restricted to the Ganges and Brahmaputra River drainages in the northeastern part of the Indian subcontinent. Indian waters, Padma, Jamuna, Brahmaputra (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) Indian waters, Padma, Ganges (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) |
| pH | 6.0 - 7.0 |
| Temperature | 20.0-27.0°C or 68-80.6°F (Show others within this range) |
| Husbandry Information | |
| Feeding | Readily feeds on live/frozen foods and other prepared foods. |
| Furniture | Prefers a heavily planted tank with little/no current. Provide plenty of driftwood as hiding spaces. |
| Compatibility | A peaceful, shoaling species that should be kept in a small group of at least 4 individuals. Because of its small size, best kept with other small fishes (e.g. small Rasboras) or in a species tank. |
| Breeding | Not reported. |
| Further Information | |
| Registered Keepers | (1) lordotterby, (2) GoGoCactus, (3) Dinyar, (4) Dave Rinaldo, (5) scotty105 (k: 10), (6) Shovelnose (k: 7), (7) beta, (8) mamoo (k: 3). Click on a username above to see all that persons registered catfish species. You can also view all "my cats" data for this species.  Add this species to your "my cats" page. |
| Breeding Reports | None. |
| More Resources |
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| Hits | 10050 hits. |
| Last Update | 2009 Dec 19 06:08 (species record created: 2001 Apr 21 00:00) |
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