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Platytropius siamensis (Sauvage 1883)

Image contributors to this species:

Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (3)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

Platytropius siamensis was described from the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok (Sauvage 1883) as a species of Pseudeutropius. Hora (1937) subsequently erected the genus Platytropius for this species (now in the Horabagridae family). Habitat: It inhabited lower to middle reaches, mainstreams, tributaries, and larger marshlands. Diet: P. siamensis was carnivorous, feeding on insects and shrimps. Reproduction: This species was oviparous and eggs were unguarded. Etymology: The genus name of Platytropius: platy, flat, probably referring to flattened head; tropius, truncation of Eutropius (=Schilbe), a common suffix for schilbeid catfishes (reflecting original familial placement), i.e., a flat Eutropius. The specific name of siamensis: –ensis, suffix denoting place: Siam, or Thailand, where it is endemic to the Chao Phraya River basin.

Common Name:

Siamese Flat-barbelled Catfish

Synonyms:

Pseudeutropius siamensis

Family:

Horabagridae

Distribution:

Asia: Chao Phraya River basin, Thailand.

Size:

20.0cm. (8ins) TL.

Temp:

22-26°C (71-79°F)

p.H.

6.0-7.0.

IUCN Red List

This species was still abundant in the Chao Phraya (and possibly Bang Pakong) River drainage in the 1920s (Smith 1945), but is now considered extinct, as no individuals have been encountered since 1975–1977 (from specimens seen from Ayutthaya; specimens at Thai Department of Fisheries (C. Vidthayanon pers. comm. 2011) in spite of numerous surveys within the Chao Phraya River drainage and areas where this species has been historically reported. The Bang Pakong has also been extensively surveyed over the period 1990–2000 (C. Vidthayanon, pers. comm. 2011), and the species has not been recorded, nor do fishers report the species (IUCN 2011, needs updated).

Reference:

Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2023. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, ( 06/2023 ).
Ng, H.H. 2011. Platytropius siamensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011.
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.
Vidthayanon, C., 2005. Thailand red data: fishes. Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning, Bangkok, Thailand. 108 p.

Family: Horabagridae Back to Ident-A-Cat Click on Thumbnails

Platytropius siamensis
Holotype

Platytropius siamensis
Holotype-dorsal view

Platytropius siamensis
Holotype-ventral view

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