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Ompok pabo (Hamilton, 1822)

Image contributors to this species:

Mostafa Hossain (2) Arnob Bora (1)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

Description: Elongated and compressed body. Mouth large and oblique. Teeth in villiform bands on the jaws. Maxillary barbels extends slightly below the posterior border of the eyes. Mandibular pair very short, almost equal to one eye diameter. Anal long, inserted well behind the dorsal fin with 66-71 branched rays. Pectoral spine serrated on its inner edge. Caudal deeply forked. Colouration: Silvery-grey with a faint shoulder spot. Body cloudy all over with black dots. Habitat: Inhabits clear as well as muddy rivers, streams, ponds and lakes. Ompok pabo was described from the Brahmaputra River towards Assam, India (Hamilton 1822). It has been distinguished from congeners in the region in having fewer anal fin rays. However, material that can definitively assigned to this species it is very rarely represented in museum collections. This species has also been recorded from Myanmar, but the identity of this material remains in doubt (H.H. Ng.). The population from Myanmar has been described as Callichrous nigrescens, which has been considered a junior synonym of Ompok pabo (Jayaram 2006). Conspecificity of these two species awaits further study (H.H. Ng.). Etymology: The specific name pabo: Assamese name for this catfish in India.

Common Name:

Pabo Catfish

Synonyms:

Silurus pabo, Silurus (Callichrus) erythrogaster

Family:

Siluridae

Distribution:

Asia: Brahmaputra, Ganges, and Yamuna River basins, India and Bangladesh; Pakistan; Myanmar. Type locality: Brahmaputra River, towards Assam.

Size:

25.0cm. (10ins)

Temp:

21-27°C (69-81F)

p.H.

6.0-7.0.

IUCN Red List

This species was listed as an endangered species in the Red List of IUCN Bangladesh (2000) due to loss of habitats and over-exploitation. The species is assessed as Near Threatened with urgent need for taxonomic, harvest and population studies.(IUCN 2010).

Reference:

Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
Ng, H.H. & Tenzin, K. 2010. Ompok pabo. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010.
Rahman, Ataur; Chowdhury, W. Gawsia; Encyclopedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh. Vol.23. Freshwater Fishes. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. 300p.
Talwar, P.K. and A.G. Jhingran, 1991. Inland fishes of India and adjacent countries. Volume 2. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam.

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

Ompok pabo
Kuliarchar, Mymensingh, Bangladesh

Ompok pabo
Brahmaputra river, Chabua Assam

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