Pseudecheneis

Pseudecheneis is a genus of sisorid catfishes native to Asia.

Pseudecheneis
Pseudecheneis sulcatus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain:Eukaryota
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Actinopterygii
Order:Siluriformes
Family:Sisoridae
Tribe:Pseudecheneidina
de Pinna, 1996
Genus:Pseudecheneis
Blyth, 1860
Type species
Glyptothorax sulcatus
McClelland, 1842
Synonyms
  • Parapseudecheneis Hora, in Hora & Chabanaud, 1930
  • Propseudecheneis Hora, 1937

Species

There are currently 19 recognized species in this genus:[1]

Distribution

Pseudecheneis species are rheophilic fish that occur in the headwaters of major river drainages throughout South and Southeast Asia.[3] They are found in the upper reaches of rivers throughout the Subhimalayan and Indochinese region.[8] They are distributed in the Ganges and Brahmaputra drainages of northern India and Nepal and eastwards to the Ailao Mountains along the upper Red River drainage of Vietnam and the Annamese Cordillera.[4][9] P. maurus represents the first record of the genus on the rivers draining to the eastern face of the Annamese Cordillera.

Description

Pseudecheneis species are easily distinguished among sisorids in having a thoracic adhesive apparatus consisting of a series of transverse ridges (laminae) separated by grooves (sulcae).[3] The dorsal and pectoral fins have one spine each. The head is short and anteriorly depressed with a sharp snout and small mouth. The lips are thick, fleshy, and papillate. The body is elongate, from moderately to greatly depressed. The eyes are small and dorsally-located. The skin is smooth. Mouth small. The maxillary barbels are very short. The mandibular barbels are papillate. The gill openings are narrow. Paired fins are plaited to form an adhesive apparatus.[9]

References