Hemibagrus guttatus (La Cepède, 1803)

Ng, Heok Hee & Kottelat, Maurice, 2013, Revision Of The Asian Catfish Genus Hemibagrus Bleeker, 1862 (Teleostei: Siluriformes: Bagridae), Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 61 (1), pp. 205-291 : 216-219

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.5351788

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/CF180962-FFE2-FFB9-FC65-F279FAA885D2

treatment provided by

Tatiana

scientific name

Hemibagrus guttatus (La Cepède, 1803)
status

 

Hemibagrus guttatus (La Cepède, 1803) View in CoL

( Fig. 7 View Fig )

Pimelodus guttatus La Cepède, 1803: 96 , Pl. 5 Fig. 1 View Fig (type locality: China); Richardson, 1846: 285; Günther, 1864: 99.

Macrones elongatus Günther, 1864: 77 (type locality: Singapore [error]).

Macrones chinensis Steindachner, 1883: 196 (type locality: Canton, China); 1884: 1111, Pl. 8; Pellegrin & Chevey, 1937: 317; Chaux & Fang, 1949: 199.

Aoria chinensis - Rendahl, 1928: 163.

Hypselobagrus chinensis - Herre & Myers, 1931: 248; Herre, 1932: 433.

Aoria guttatus - Herre & Lin, 1936: 23, Fig. 7 View Fig .

Leiocassis chinensis - Tchang, 1936: 43, Fig. 3 View Fig .

Mystus elongatus View in CoL - Fowler, 1938: 52; Alfred, 1966: 35; Jayaram, 1978: 225, Fig. 2 View Fig ; Jayaram & Sanyal, 2003: 55, Fig. 7 View Fig .

Hemibagrus elongatus View in CoL - Nichols, 1943: 50; Tchang, 1960: 34, Fig. 27 View Fig ; Mai, 1985: 284; Mai, 1995: 17, 18.

Mystus (Mystus) chinensis View in CoL - Jayaram, 1966: 446.

Mystus (Mystus) elongatus View in CoL - Jayaram, 1966: 446.

Hemibagrus elongatus hongus Mai, 1978: 250 View in CoL , Fig. 114 (type locality: Song Hong [Red River], Vietnam)

Mystus guttatus View in CoL - Yue, 1981: 188, Fig. 153; Ni & Wu, 1986: 173, Fig. 97; Cheng & Zheng, 1987: 216, Fig. 1088; Zheng, 1989: 285, Fig. 219; Chu, 1989: 194, Fig. 3 View Fig –67; Ze, 1989: 251, Pl. 17; Cui, 1990: 164, Fig. 168; Gao, 1990: 314, Fig. 190; Zheng & Dai, 1999: 72, Fig. 36 View Fig ; Zhou et al., 1999: 117; Yang & Zhang, 2006: 414, Fig. II-237, Pl. XII Fig. 111.

Hemibagrus guttatus View in CoL - Chen, 1984: 412, Fig. 280; Mo, 1991: 132; Kottelat et al., 1998: 566; Ferraris, 2007: 88.

Mystus chinensis View in CoL - Jayaram & Sanyal, 2003: 53, Fig. 6 View Fig .

Hemibagrus hongus View in CoL - Kottelat, 2001a: 51; Ferraris, 2007: 89.

Hemibagrus dongbacensis Nguy View in CoL n, 2005: 631, Fig. 48 View Fig (type locality: Ky Cung River , Lang Son province, Vietnam).

Material examined. — BMNH 1855.9.19:109, 1 ex., 240.7 mm SL, Singapore [holotype of Macrones elongatus ] .

CHINA: CAS 132536 About CAS , 2 ex., 112.1–139.8 mm SL, Zhejiang province : Qiantang River ; CAS 124203 About CAS , 1 ex., 151.7 mm SL , CAS 128163 About CAS , 1 ex., 271.5 mm SL, Guangdong . CAS 129448 About CAS , 3 ex., 164.4–271.1 mm SL ; FMNH 47268 About FMNH , 1 ex., 238.9 mm SL ; UMMZ 238761 View Materials , 1 ex., 108.3 mm SL, Guangdong province : Yingde county, Beijiang River at Beiying ; UMMZ 238988 View Materials , 3 ex., 78.6–161.0 mm SL ; ZRC 42555, ex., 328.4 mm SL, Guangdong province : Beijiang River ; ZRC 45661, 11 ex., 180.0– 396 mm SL, Guangdong province : Xijiang River ; USNM 94595 About USNM , 1 ex., 251.1 mm SL, Guangxi province : Wuzhou.

VIETNAM: CAS 216759 About CAS , 2 ex., 121.0– 125.7 mm SL, Lang Son province: Na Sam market ; ZMUH 256 View Materials , 2 ex., 207.6–245.5 mm SL, Na Ri ; AMNH 228041 About AMNH , 2 ex., 97.8–136.3 mm SL, Nghe An province: Con Cuong district, Chau Khe region, Khe Bu , right branch of river ; MNHN 1937–33 About MNHN , 1 ex., 224.0 mm SL, Bac Thai province: Song Cau drainage, Bac Can .

Diagnosis. — Hemibagrus guttatus differs from H. macropterus in having a double-chambered (vs. singlechambered) swim bladder, the adipose fin not confluent (vs. partially confluent) with the principal rays of the caudal fin, fewer vertebrae (51–54 vs. 57–59), and a grey or light yellowish body with larger black spots at least one quarter eye diameter (vs. dark brown body with few very small black spots less than one quarter eye diameter). It is distinguished from H. vietnamicus in having a longer pectoral spine (extending beyond a vertical through the base of the dorsal spine vs. to a vertical through the base of the dorsal spine) and fewer vertebrae (51–54 vs. 58–59).

Description. — Biometric and meristic data as in Table 4. General description as for genus. Head depressed and broad, body moderately compressed and elongated. Dorsal profile rising evenly but not steeply from tip of snout to origin of dorsal fin, then sloping gently ventrally from there to end of caudal peduncle. Ventral profile horizontal to origin of anal fin, then sloping dorsally to end of caudal peduncle. Adipose-fin base very long, spanning almost all of postdorsal distance, about 3.0 times length of anal-fin base, not confluent with principal rays of caudal fin. Dorsal spine stout, with 6 serrations on posterior edge. Pectoral spine stout, with 13 large serrations on posterior edge, extending beyond vertical through base of dorsal spine. Anal-fin origin posterior to adipose origin. Adpressed dorsal fin reaching adipose fin. Caudal fin forked; upper and lower lobes rounded posteriorly. Swim bladder with two chambers. Vertebrae 51–54. Maximum recorded size approx. 1000 mm TL.

Colour. — Dorsal surface of head and body uniform light grey to grey (live or freshly-dead specimens with slight yellow hue, fading on preservation); many dark grey spots on side of body one quarter eye diameter or larger, located posterior to origin of dorsal fin, caudal fin with many such spots present; ventral surface of head and body dirty white; adipose fin and fin rays of all fins grey; inter-radial membranes of all fins hyaline.

Distribution. — Hemibagrus guttatus is known from the Hanjiang, Jiulongjiang, and Qiantangjiang drainages in southern China and the Zhujiang (Pearl River, Song Ky Cung) and Song Hong (Red River, Yuanjiang) drainages in southern China and northern Vietnam ( Fig. 8 View Fig ). The records from the Hanjiang and Jiulongjiang drainages follow Yang & He (2008). It is also known from Hainan Island, where it has been recorded from the Nandujiang drainage (Ni & Wu, 1986).

fed predominantly on arthropods, with an ontogenetic shift to a diet consisting predominantly of fish and crustaceans at 240 mm SL and larger. This is the largest species in this group: Nichols (1943) reported lengths of up to 1000 mm (most probably TL) and weights of at least 30 lbs. (16.2 kg).

Remarks. — The identity of H. guttatus has been somewhat problematic, and it is only recently (Kottelat et al., 1998) that it has been partially clarified. Hemibagrus guttatus is now a valid species, with H. elongatus ( Günther, 1864) and H. chinensis ( Steindachner, 1883) considered subjective junior synonyms (Kottelat et al., 1998). However, the nomenclatural problems surrounding the exact identity of H. guttatus has been further complicated by Mai (1978), who recognised two subspecies of H. elongatus (considered a junior synonym of H. guttatus ; see Kottelat et al., 1998) from northern Vietnam: H. elongatus elongatus from Na Ri (from the Ky Cung River, which flows into the Xijiang River drainage in southern China) and a new subspecies, H. elongatus hongus from the Song Hong [Red River]. The two subspecies were distinguished by different number of anal-fin rays: H. elongatus elongatus with 12 anal fin-rays and H. elongatus hongus with 12–14 anal-fin rays. The specimens from Na Ri identified as H. elongatus elongatus by Mai (1978) are deposited in ZMUH, Hanoi, but the specimens identified as H. elongatus hongus cannot be found (Mai Dinh Yen, pers. comm. to HHN), and could not be located as well during a visit to the collection in the University of Hanoi in September 1997. We examined the specimens identifed as H. elongatus elongatus by Mai (ZMUH 256), and found that they have 13 anal-fin rays, and not 12 as originally stated. As there are no other significant differences between Mai’s H. elongatus elongatus from Na Ri and H. elongatus hongus from the Song Hong [Red River], the division of the north Vietnamese population into two subspecies is unwarranted.

Hemibagrus guttatus is known from river drainages in southern China and northern Vietnam, but we have not come across any material from Taiwan and Hainan (large islands lying off Habitat and biology. — Hemibagrus guttatus inhabits large rivers, usually favouring areas of rapid current and rocky bottoms. In the northern limit of its range, the species hibernates in deep water during the winter. It spawns in May–June, usually in shallow, sandy areas ( Chen, 1984). The diet of this species in the Zhujiang (Pearl River) has been studied by Hu et al. (2003). Young fish 170 mm SL and under the southeastern coast of China) in our extensive survey of Hemibagrus holdings in most major museums, except for a single case mentioned below. Although a specimen ostensibly collected from Taiwan was encountered (CAS 18294 (1), 370 mm SL), this is most probably mislabelled, as no species of Hemibagrus are known from the streams and rivers of Taiwan ( Oshima, 1919; Chen, 2001). Hemibagrus guttatus is found sympatrically with H. vietnamicus in northern Vietnam, as both species are known from Song Cau (in Bac Thai province) at Cho Moi and Bac Can. However, it cannot be excluded that the northern Vietnamese populations of H. guttatus may have been introduced as Hemibagrus are commonly kept alive and carried around as food fishes in southern China and northern Vietnam (MK, pers. obs.).

Hemibagrus dongbacensis was described from the Ky Cung River, which forms part of the Zhujiang (Pearl River) drainage in northeastern Vietnam. Nguy n (2005) distinguished H. dongbacensis from H. guttatus by differences in the shape of the teeth and tooth patches, shorter maxillary barbels, darker body and smaller size. Using both information in the original description and our examination of material from the Ky Cung River drainage (CAS 216759), we were unable to distinguish H. dongbacensis from H. guttatus , and conclude that the two nominal species are conspecific.

ZRC

Zoological Reference Collection, National University of Singapore

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Actinopterygii

Order

Siluriformes

Family

Bagridae

Genus

Hemibagrus

Loc

Hemibagrus guttatus (La Cepède, 1803)

Ng, Heok Hee & Kottelat, Maurice 2013
2013
Loc

Hemibagrus hongus

Ferraris, C 2007: 89
Kottelat, M 2001: 51
2001
Loc

Hemibagrus guttatus

Ferraris, C 2007: 88
Mo, T 1991: 132
Chen, H 1984: 412
1984
Loc

Mystus guttatus

Zhou, W 1999: 117
Cui, G 1990: 164
Gao, G 1990: 314
Zheng, B 1989: 285
Chu, X 1989: 194
Ze, Q 1989: 251
Yue, Z 1981: 188
1981
Loc

Hemibagrus elongatus hongus

Mai, D 1978: 250
1978
Loc

Mystus (Mystus) chinensis

Jayaram, K 1966: 446
1966
Loc

Mystus (Mystus) elongatus

Jayaram, K 1966: 446
1966
Loc

Hemibagrus elongatus

Mai, D 1985: 284
Tchang, T 1960: 34
Nichols, J 1943: 50
1943
Loc

Mystus elongatus

Jayaram, K 1978: 225
Alfred, E 1966: 35
Fowler, H 1938: 52
1938
Loc

Leiocassis chinensis

Tchang, T 1936: 43
1936
Loc

Hypselobagrus chinensis

Herre, A 1932: 433
1932
Loc

Aoria chinensis

Rendahl, H 1928: 163
1928
Loc

Macrones chinensis

Pellegrin, J 1937: 317
Steindachner, F 1883: 196
1883
Loc

Macrones elongatus Günther, 1864: 77

Gunther, A 1864: 77
1864
Loc

Pimelodus guttatus La Cepède, 1803: 96

Gunther, A 1864: 99
Richardson, J 1846: 285
1846
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