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Teleostei (teleosts) > Siluriformes (Catfishes) > Kryptoglanidae (Indian cave catfishes)
Etymology: Kryptoglanis: Named for its cryptic habitat; Latin, ‘crypta’, a vault or tunnel; ‘glanis’, a catfish.; shajii: Named for C.P. Shaji, a fish taxonomist who significantly contributed to the documentation of freshwater fish diversity of the Kerala region of Western Ghats by the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI Peechi)..

Issue
Family Incertae sedis.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical

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Asia: Western Ghats in Kerala, India.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 5.9 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 86813); 5.4 cm SL (female)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

This species is distinguished from other siluriform species by the following set of characters: viz. no dorsal fin; anal fin with long base and completely confluent with caudal fin; 70-74 total number of fin rays in the anal and caudal fins; subcutaneous eyes; upwardly directed mouth with distinctly projecting lower jaw; fan-like pectoral fin, no spines; 4 pairs of barbels (Ref. 86813).

Occurs in subterranean streams. Observed to inhabit an open water body, over the paddy fields and water sources feeding paddy fields. Found mainly hiding between submerged vegetation present on the sides of the water body (Ref. 92081). Specimens collected from 5.5-m-deep well containing water where it is situated on the slope of a hilly terrain and receives water from groundwater springs, subterranean. Female individuals (4.95-5.44 cm SL) collected had distended bellies containing mature eggs. In the laboratory, the fishes thrive on Artemia nauplii and minced earthworms (Ref. 86813).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Vincent, M. and J. Thomas, 2011. Kryptoglanis shajii, an enigmatic subterranean-spring catfish (Siluriformes, Incertae sedis) from Kerala, India. Ichthyol. Res. 58(2):161-165. (Ref. 86813)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

Endangered (EN) (B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii)); Date assessed: 30 January 2021

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

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Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 1.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00180 - 0.00842), b=3.12 (2.94 - 3.30), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 3.2 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).

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Kryptoglanis shajii Vincent & Thomas, 2011