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Tachysurus aurantiacus (Temminck & Schlegel 1846)

Image contributors to this species:

Nakamura, M; Keys to the Freshwater Fishes of Japan Fully Illustrated in Colors (2)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

Description: Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 6-7; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 17 - 22. Closely resembles Tachysurus nudiceps, but distinguished by its caudal fin that is slightly notched posteriorly. Etymology: The genus name of Tachysurus: tachys, swift; oura, tail, referring to the presumed agility of T. sinensis based on its “long and nimble” tail (translation). The specific name of aurantiacus: orange-coloured, referring to “bright orange-yellow” colour (translation) in life. Remarks: Still valid in some publications and in some online rescources as Pseudobagrus aurantiacus but Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes has Tachysurus as the current genus name with Pseudobagrus aurantiacus as a junior synonym.

Common Name:

None

Synonyms:

Bagrus aurantiacus, Pseudobagrus ransonnettii, Pseudobagrus aurantiacus

Family:

Bagridae

Distribution:

Asia: Japan, Western Kyushu and Iki Islands. Type locality: Japan.

Size:

16.5cm (6½inch)

Temp:

20-25°C (67-77°F)

p.H.

6.0-7.0.

IUCN Red List

This species is endemic to Japan. It occurs in Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Oita, Miyazaki, Kagoshima and Kumamoto Prefectures. It has an extent of occurrence (EOO) of 17,189 km2 and an area of occupancy (AOO) of 392 km2. There are over 20 locations based on the threat of introduction of Tachysaurus nudiceps. There have been declines in the distribution (AOO), habitat extent and quality, the number of subpopulations, and the population size based on the threat of this invasive species and numerous other threats. Although there are continuing declines and the EOO and AOO meet the thresholds for Vulnerable and Endangered, respectively, the number of locations is above the threshold for any threatened category. As a result, this species is assessed as Near Threatened (IUCN 2019).

Reference:

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. 2011. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version.
Masuda, H., K. Amaoka, C. Araga, T. Uyeno and T. Yoshino, 1984. The fishes of the Japanese Archipelago. Vol. 1. Tokai University Press, Tokyo, Japan. 437 p. (text).
Miyazaki, Y., Nakajima, J., Takaku, K. & Taniguchi, Y. 2019. Tachysurus aurantiacus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019.
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.

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

Tachysurus aurantiacus

Tachysurus aurantiacus
Juvenile

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