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Fishes of Mainland Southeast Asia (2) Jean-Francois Helias (2)

This species was recognised as Helicophagus waandersii (from Indonesian Sumatra) for a long time, and was described as valid species by Ng and Kottelat (2000). Description: Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 6-7; Anal soft rays: 35 - 42; Vertebrae: 46 - 48. Can be differentiated from all its congeners by the following combination of characters: length of anal-fin base 34.5-38.2% SL, length of caudal peduncle 12.9-15.3% SL, head length 20.8-22.8% SL, eye diameter 16.1-21.2% HL, 9-12 gill rakers on the first branchial arch. Snout relatively elongate, conical in dorsal view; mouth narrow, with 20-25 times in SL; posterior nostril midway between anterior nostril and eye. Habitat: Found in permanent mainstream rivers and larger tributaries, and does not move into flooded forests or wetlands; it migrates upstream at the start of the rains, and returns downstream as waters recede (Rainboth 1996). Reported to use deep pool habitats within the Mekong mainstream (Poulsen et al. 2002). It is considered to be a short to moderately-long distance migrant. Diet: The species feeds on molluscs.

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Pangasiidae

Asia: Chao Phraya and Mekong River drainages in Indochina. Type locality: Mun River at Bung Wai, about 7 kilometers west of Ubon Ratchathani, 15°12'30''N, 104°47'30''E, Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand.

47.0cm. (18¾ins)

22-28°C (71-83°F)

6.5-7.5.

Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2006. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version (08/2016).
Ng, H.H. and M. Kottelat, 2000. Helicophagus leptorhynchus, a new species of molluscivorous catfish from Indochina (Teleostei: Pangasiidae). Raffles Bull. Zoll. 48(1):55-58.
Vidthayanon, C. 2012. Helicophagus leptorhynchus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012: e.T180838A1668380.