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Allan James (4) Kamphol Udomrittiruj (1) Jean-Francois Helias (3)

Description: Adipose fin longer than anal fin and almost contiguous with the dorsal fin; eyes not visible when head is viewed from below. Cranial fontanel extends posteriorly to about midway between posterior rim of eye and supraoccipital process. Habitat: Moves into floodplains during periods of high water and is often found in places with submerged woody vegetation. Colouration: Colouration as per original description: “Back and upper surface of head brown. Dark to blackish grey median lateral band, wide as vertical eye diameter and including lateral line, bounded above by whitish parallel longitudinal narrower band its whole extent, and below by whitish colour of under surfaces of body. Pale brownish streak, narrowing behind, back from pectoral axil until over front of anal. Iris grey. Lips pale or whitish. All barbels pale, with brown margins and nasal and maxillary pairs darker. Fins all more or less dull brownish.” Vertebrae: 36 - 39. Has 3 faint dark and 2 whitish stripes on the sides. Reproduction: Oviparous, distinct pairing possibly like other members of the same family. Diet: Feeds mainly on crustaceans and zooplankton along with small bits of algae and fish scales. May forage in schools like the other small striped species of Mystus. Etymology: The genus name Mystus: "Mystax" meaning whiskered (hair on the upper lip) Mystus was first used by Belon in 1553 to describe all fish with whiskers. The specific name atrifasciatus: ater, black; fasciatus, banded, referring to distinct, dark lateral band traversing lateral line.

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Bagridae

Asia: Mekong, Meklong and Chao Phraya River basins. Type locality: Pitsanulok, Siam.

15.0cm (6ins)

22-27°C (71-81°F)

6.5-7.5.

Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2009. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version (07/2010).
Grant, Steven. ScotCat Article:  The striped catfishes of the genus Mystus Scopoli, 1777 (Siluriformes: Bagridae)
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.