The Mystus ID Thread

Shovelnose · Post by **Shovelnose** » 28 Nov 2011, 17:55

Pics of the smaller specimen.

Good enough???

The.Dark.One · Post by **The.Dark.One** » 28 Nov 2011, 18:07

I think the last fish is the same as the one before, but whether they are different enough from the others to make them another species is hard to tell. They are not canarensis. They are closer to malabaricus but the adipose seems different. I don't think they are armatus as I think that armatus (as described) is a synonym of oculatus. They dont look like ankutta. I can't ID these for definite, sorry.

Shovelnose · Post by **Shovelnose** » 29 Nov 2011, 13:48

The.Dark.One wrote:I think the last fish is the same as the one before

As in the 3rd fish in the thread and fish 4,5 could be the same??? Fish 4 and 5 are the same yes.

I am unable to pinpoint the collection locality of this specimen.

The pattern is a bit faded due to stress but looks very similar to vittatus as HH had pointed out earlier in another thread. Maxillary barbels extend only till the ventral fin

An old picture to show the pattern better. I had wrongly assumed this was montanus due to the stripes.

Dorsal spine.

Adipose fin base seems slightly longer than the dorsal fin base.

Head shots.

8-9 serrations on the pectoral spine.

Is this just vittatus with a few missing stripes???

Post by **Silurus** » 29 Nov 2011, 14:18

Shovelnose wrote: Is this just vittatus with a few missing stripes???

Nope, but let me put it this way. I could give this one a name if you can provide me a specimen with a collection locality.

Shovelnose · Post by **Shovelnose** » 29 Nov 2011, 16:13

Silurus wrote:I could give this one a name if you can provide me a specimen with a collection locality.

I am stuck at the moment with the collection locality part. A trip will happen end of this month that will hopefully lead to more specimens of this species with the collection locality.

The.Dark.One · Post by **The.Dark.One** » 29 Nov 2011, 21:10

A new species then? I though the fontanel, supraoccipital process, short adipose fin, and short barbels made it a contender for M. keletius?

Post by **Silurus** » 30 Nov 2011, 01:57

Mystus keletius does not have barbels this short, plus the dorsal-to-adipose distance appears longer in Balaji's fish.

Shovelnose · Post by **Shovelnose** » 30 Nov 2011, 11:19

Edit : Post moved.

The.Dark.One · Post by **The.Dark.One** » 30 Nov 2011, 15:44

Silurus wrote:Mystus keletius does not have barbels this short, plus the dorsal-to-adipose distance appears longer in Balaji's fish.

Ok. I know it's not fully accurate but J&S state the maxillary barbels only reach the ventral fins?

Post by **Silurus** » 30 Nov 2011, 16:10

I discount anything in that travesty of a paper. That's all I have to say about that.

The.Dark.One · Post by **The.Dark.One** » 30 Nov 2011, 18:27

lol, OK.

Shovelnose · Post by **Shovelnose** » 01 Dec 2011, 04:51

I guess its the pause button for this specimen for now. More soon hopefully.

This specimen is from Vettilapara,Chalakudy.

At last!!! Serrations on the dorsal spine I can see.

Adipose fin.

Caudal tinged yellow here too.

11-12 serrations on the pectoral spine.

Head shots.

This looks very close to the fish 4 and 5 in the thread. I was thinking malabaricus initially but not sure now.

Ps : Moved this post down and deleted the old one so it is easier to read and understand.

Shovelnose · Post by **Shovelnose** » 02 Dec 2011, 15:02

Another similar looking (to the Chalakudy one) specimen. This one from Karnataka (Nethravathi most likely). Pectoral serrations seem to match (11-12) although serrations on the dorsal spine aren't as prominent on this specimen.

Adipose and caudal fins.

Head shots.

I have been assuming this one and the Chalakudy are both malabaricus too.

The.Dark.One · Post by **The.Dark.One** » 02 Dec 2011, 17:16

I too think it is malabaricus

Shovelnose · Post by **Shovelnose** » 02 Dec 2011, 17:48

Great. This is the last species.

Came in as malabaricus from Karnataka.

Dorsal fin.

Adipose and caudal fins.

9-10 serrations on the pectoral spine.

Head shots.

This would be canarensis??? This is the smaller of the 2 specimens I have. Gorgeous gorgeous fish. Very elegant and fluid in motion. Quite peaceful. I would say the pink it is showing in the pics is because of stress or some other factor as it is always dull grey like a true Mystus

. A little slimmer and it could pass off as an Olyra. Will post pics of the bigger specimen shortly.

The.Dark.One · Post by **The.Dark.One** » 02 Dec 2011, 18:04

Yes that is canarensis IMO

Shovelnose · Post by **Shovelnose** » 02 Dec 2011, 18:25

Great!!!! Thanks!!!! Looks like I am done for now. All except the alleged Tambraparani ones. I should be getting a few more specimens next week and end of this month as well. Will update this thread then.

The biggest specimen I have currently.

The.Dark.One · Post by **The.Dark.One** » 02 Dec 2011, 18:35

Yes, another canarensis. Lovely specimens!

Shovelnose · Post by **Shovelnose** » 02 Dec 2011, 19:23

Thanks!!! A joy to keep these. I find the bleekeri (locally caught) and malabaricus bickering a bit but these stay away and are left alone too. The specimens were also quite heavy when handling. Didn't expect that as they are hardly deep bodied.

Now to go and collect seengtee, oculatus and keletius.

The.Dark.One · Post by **The.Dark.One** » 02 Dec 2011, 21:11

Shovelnose wrote:
Now to go and collect seengtee, oculatus and keletius.

Torment! You are so lucky!

Shovelnose · Post by **Shovelnose** » 03 Dec 2011, 04:59

Ha ha. Now I can't say no to that.

Specimen from the Dibru river, Guijan Ghat, Tinsukia District, Assam. Could this be ??? The spot on the caudal peduncle seems right but the adipose fin base looks longer than should be??? This is the only picture I can source for now.

The.Dark.One · Post by **The.Dark.One** » 03 Dec 2011, 21:59

Looks right to me, especially with the locality info.

Shovelnose · Post by **Shovelnose** » 05 Dec 2011, 06:56

Unfortunately, there is no scope for getting any live specimens at the moment. Maybe sometime later.

Shovelnose · Post by **Shovelnose** » 15 Dec 2011, 13:38

This specimen is from Sirakol,South 24 Parganas District,West Bengal. It is not from a river but from a pond and was collected along with Puntius gelius,P.phutunio and an Esomus sp.The nearest river is 30kms away. This is the first sp. my friend has collected from this place even though he has been collecting extensively in this region for over a decade.

The specimen shot earlier this year at my friends place.

The specimen now. Most of that silver is an artefact of flash. It is much duller.

The maxillary barbels extend till the caudal peduncle.

11-12 serrations on the pectoral spine and fairly large eyes.

No serrations on the dorsal spine??? I can't see a spot at the dorsal fin base either but I think it does have one when looking at the first picture.

Adipose fin.

Head shots.

What do you think???

Post by **Silurus** » 15 Dec 2011, 13:57

Shovelnose · Post by **Shovelnose** » 15 Dec 2011, 14:12

Hey HH,

The spot on the caudal peduncle is a normal feature??? I haven't come across this in the literature I have gone through I think.

The.Dark.One · Post by **The.Dark.One** » 15 Dec 2011, 14:50

I too think cavasius.

Post by **Silurus** » 15 Dec 2011, 14:50

You can make one out in the first picture in the Cat-eLog.

Shovelnose · Post by **Shovelnose** » 15 Dec 2011, 14:58

Yup. That is what I compared it to. Saw the spot on the caudal peduncle on that specimen too. Hence wondered if this is a constant as I haven't read about this before.

I got some bigger specimens as well. Gorgeous looking. Will try taking pics of those for the Cat-Elog soon.

Shovelnose · Post by **Shovelnose** » 31 Dec 2011, 03:32

Pics : Neil

Specimen from West Bengal. This is a leucistic .

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