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his month (Feb.2007) we cover a family that I have included for the first time on the monthly factsheet series. namely Amblycipitidae, a family of loach shaped catfishes from Southern Asia, China, Taiwan and Japan. We concentrate for the first time on the species, Liobagrus marginatus.

Liobagrus marginatus

As you can see on the above image the strange bulbous head that this species and others from the genus adorn and also the continuous adipose fin and caudal. Quite a peculiar looking catfish to say the least :-)

The image below shows the well developed barbel arangement of Liobagrus marginatus.

Liobagrus marginatus - barbels view

There are three genera, Amblyceps, Liobagrus and Xiurenbagrus but the first two are the species we tend to see although they are still pretty rare in the trade. The differences are Amblyceps: Nostrils close together; cup-like depresion below opercular flap present. Liobagrus: Nostrils far apart; no cup-like depresion below opercular flap.

This family are closely related to the Bagridae family and are reported to be able to live out of the water for a period of time.

The ichthyologist who discovered this species, Albert Günther, was born in Esslingen in Swabia (Germany) in the year 1830 and died at the age of 84 at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. He studied theology in Bonn and Berlin and later studied medicine in Tübingen. He went to the British Museum in 1856, where he worked on ichthyology. Following the death of John Edward Gray in 1875 he was made director of the zoology department of the Natural History Museum in London, remaining so until 1895. Apart from fishes, he also worked on the reptiles and amphibians in the Museum collection.

None

Amblyceps marginatus

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Asia: China, Changjiang River (Yangtze River), Szechwan.

 Click this thumbnail map for locations.

13.0cm. (5ins)

18-22°C (63-71°F)

Dorsal fin short with a week concealed spine. Anal fin short with about 9-18 rays. Pelvic fins have 6-7 rays. Gill openings wide and the gill membranes are free from the isthmus. Nostrils far apart; no cup-like depression below opercular flap. Adipose fin long, low and keel-like, and continuous with rounded or truncate caudal fin. 4 pairs of barbels.

Would certainly need water movement in the aquarium as they come from fast moving streams in their natural habitat. Hiding places should also be introduced for their well being and to make them feel more secure in their surroundings.

Not reported.

In their normal habitat they will greedingly feed on aquatic insects and insect larvae. In the aquarium Daphnia, frozen and live. Also frozen foods such as bloodworm and cyclops.

Liobagrus: Greek, leio = smooth + Mozarabic bagre, Greek, pagros = a kind of fish.

Photo Credits

© Zhou Hang