The Mystus ID Thread

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 .

Shovelnose · Post by **Shovelnose** » 15 Jan 2012, 18:23

Pics : Ashwin

Specimens from Karnataka,India. I presume???

Shovelnose · Post by **Shovelnose** » 06 Feb 2012, 11:28

This one came in today from Karnataka. Was quite stressed so didn't I torture him in the photo tank for too long. What do you think??? Looks close to malabaricus but I think it is very slender when compared to the other malabricus specimens I have from this region. The adipose too is smaller.

Post by **Silurus** » 06 Feb 2012, 12:04

It's one of those things without a name, if you ask me.

Shovelnose · Post by **Shovelnose** » 06 Feb 2012, 12:10

Ah. I was thinking on the same lines but wasn't completely sure. One of the specimens came 'almost' DOA. I have kept him separately. In case he pops, I will take clearer pics.

I don't know if dumping him in formalin will be of any use as he has been battered by the other specimen in transit.

The.Dark.One · Post by **The.Dark.One** » 06 Feb 2012, 12:20

It matches with Mystus canarensis:

Long body, shallow body depth, short supraoccipital process, long adipose fin base, among other things.

Shovelnose · Post by **Shovelnose** » 06 Feb 2012, 13:54

Hey Steve,

At first glance, it seems to differ from the specimens I already have. I will take some better pics soon.

Shovelnose · Post by **Shovelnose** » 08 Feb 2012, 08:50

In the meanwhile, pics of the bigger .

Shovelnose · Post by **Shovelnose** » 06 Jun 2012, 05:43

Does anyone have any pictures (live especially) of Mystus keletius??? I did a trip to the type locality (Pondicherry) a month ago with no luck. The easiest way to identify spots feasible for collection in these areas is to show pictures of the fish to the local fishermen. Unfortunately, the only verified pictures I have seen of this species are the pictures of the lectotype and they won't be of much use when shown to fishermen.

Post by **Silurus** » 06 Jun 2012, 06:27

I think this is a misidentified Mystus keletius from the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary (a bit far from the type locality, I know).

Shovelnose · Post by **Shovelnose** » 06 Jun 2012, 08:04

Thanks HH!!! I assumed M.keletius was confined to lower reaches of rivers like M.gulio. I will use this picture as a reference. I will update his thread once I collect some more .

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