AquaticRepublic.com - Mystus malabaricus (Bagridae) All Fishes

Moyar River
Kumaradhara River, south India
Kumaradhara River, south India

All Fishes Data Sheet
Scientific Name	**Mystus malabaricus** (Jerdon, 1849)
Common Name	Jerdon's Mystus
Type Locality	Mountain streams of Malabar, India.
Synonym(s)	Bagrus malabaricus, Hara malabarica, Macrones malabaricus
Pronunciation	miss tuss - mah lah bar ree kess
Etymology	The generic name is probably derived from the Latin mystax, meaning moustache, in reference to the long barbels. It was first used by Scopoli in 1777 making it a very old genus that has included many catfishes from throughout the world at one time or another. Named after its type locality (the Malabar region in southern India).
Species Information
Size	150mm or 5.9" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	Fishes of the genus Mystus Scopoli are small to medium-sized bagrid catfishes occurring in South Asia. Roberts (1994) recognized Mystus to have an elongate cranial fontanel reaching up to the base of the occipital process, long maxillary barbel, very long adipose fin, 11–30 gill rakers on the first gill arch and 37–46 total vertebrae, about equally divided between abdominal and caudal regions. He included only eight species under the genus. Mo (1991) characterized the genus to have a thin needle-like first infraorbital, twisted and thickened metapterygoid loosely attached to the quadrate by means of ligament or a small extent of cartilage. Jayaram & Sanyal (2003) and Ferraris (2007) respectively listed 44 and 33 species of Mystus as valid. Distinguished by a moderately long adipose fin, a deep caudal peduncle and a dark midlateral stripe.
Sexing	Males have an elongate genital papilla in front of the anal fin.
Habitat Information
Distribution	Asia: Western Ghats of Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra in India. Indian waters, Karnataka State Waters (click on these areas to find other species found there) Indian waters, Kerala State Waters (click on these areas to find other species found there) Indian waters, Maharashtra State Waters (click on these areas to find other species found there) Indian waters, Western Ghats Waters (click on these areas to find other species found there) Login to view the map.
IUCN Red List Category	Near Threatened , range map and more is available on the IUCN species page. Last assessed 2010.
pH	6.0 - 7.0
Temperature	20.0-27.0°C or 68-80.6°F (Show species within this range)
Husbandry Information
Feeding	Easily adapts to a wide variety of frozen and prepared food in the aquarium. May eat very small fish. User data.
Furniture	The tank should be furnished with ample driftwood and rocks as hiding spaces.
Compatibility	Compatible with most fishes, although very small fishes will be eaten. Ideal tankmates include larger barbs and rasboras in an Asian biotope setup.
Breeding	Not reported.
Breeding Reports	There is no breeding report.
Further Information
Reference	Madras Journal of Literature and Science v. 15 (pt 2), pp 338.
Registered Keepers	There is no registered keeper.
Wishlists	Love this species? Click the heart to add it to your wish list. There is no wish to keep this species.
Spotters	Spotted this species somewhere? Click the binoculars! There are 2 records of this fish being seen, view them all.
Forum BBCode

	Look up M. malabaricus on PlanetCatfish.com
	Look up M. malabaricus on Fishbase
	Look up M. malabaricus on Encyclopedia of Life
	Look up M. malabaricus on Global Biodiversity Information Facility
	LFS label creator ARN ref:1.8.14.453
Last Update	2025 Jan 02 01:39 (species record created: 2001 May 03 00:00)