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Kryptopterus palembangensis

Bleeker, 1852

Formerly Silurus palembangensis Bleeker, 1852

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This species is very rare in the aquarium trade.
This species is very rare in the aquarium trade.Zhou Hang

Quick facts

Length
140mm SL6in SL
Tank base
120 × 30cm48 × 12in
Temp
20–28°C68–82°F
pH
6.0–7.5
Hardness
2–15dGH

Difficulty5 of 6 measures

Moderate

More bars, more demanding.

Space
large tank
Water
tap water
Temp
unfussy
Temperament
unknown
Social
shoal
Compatibility
not a community fish

This species is almost unheard of in the aquarium trade though may occasionally be exported among shipments of wild fishes from Sumatra. It's closely-related to K. bichirris but is told apart by presence (vs. absence) of a prominent, dark lateral stripe on each flank. Kryptopterus species are found only in Southeast Asia and the genus has been consi...

Etymology

Kryptopterus: from the Greek kryptos, meaning 'hidden', and pterýgio, meaning 'fin', in reference to the reduced or absent dorsal-fin in members of this genus.

palembangensis: 'of Palembang', in reference to the type locality of this species.

Distribution

Type locality is given as 'Palembang, Sumatra, Indonesia', and this species appears to be known only from central and southern Sumatra in the provinces of Jambi and South Sumatra (Sumatera Selatan).

Aquarium size

Standard length
140mm SL6in SL
Aquarium base
120 × 30cm48 × 12in
Volume
~108litres~29US gal

An aquarium with base dimensions of 120 ∗ 30 cm48 ∗ 12 in or equivalent should be the smallest considered.

Water conditions

Temperature
20–28°C68–82°F
pH
6.0–7.5
Hardness
2–15dGH

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Diet

Probably a predator feeding on crustaceans, invertebrates and smaller fishes in nature, although there should be no need to use such live foods in captivity.

Offer a varied diet comprising sinking dried foods, live and frozen bloodworm, Tubifex, etc., and perhaps the occasional small earthworm.

Notes

This species is almost unheard of in the aquarium trade though may occasionally be exported among shipments of wild fishes from Sumatra.

It's closely-related to K. bichirris but is told apart by presence (vs. absence) of a prominent, dark lateral stripe on each flank.

Kryptopterus species are found only in Southeast Asia and the genus has been considered polyphyletic since Bornbusch (1995) with some former species already moved to the genera Phalacronotus and Micronema.

Those still contained within the genus are assigned to a number of putative species groups as follows:

K. bicirrhis group: K. bicirrhis, K. lais, K. palembangensis, K. macrocephalus, K. minor, K. piperatus, K. vitreolus
K. cryptopterus group: K. cryptopterus, K. geminus
K. limpok group: K. limpok, K. mononema, K. dissitus, K. baramensis, K. hesperius
K. schilbeides group: K. schilbeides, K. paraschilbeides

Bombusch (1995) identified the K. bicirrhis group as a distinct clade although he didn't propose any synapomorphy to diagnose it.

Ng and Kottelat (2013)[4] later noted that members normally have fewer anal-fin rays (46–67 vs. 64–85) than other congeners and placed K. piperatus and K. vitreolus within the group based on this character.

References

  1. Ferraris, C. J., Jr. (2007). Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418, 1-628
  2. Bornbusch, A. H. (1995). Phylogenetic relationships within the Eurasian catfish family Siluridae (Pisces: Siluriformes), with comments on generic validities and biogeography. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 115, 1-46
  3. Tan, H. H. and H. H. Ng (2000). The catfishes (Teleostei: Siluriformes) of central Sumatra. Journal of Natural History 34(2), 267-303
  4. Ng, H-H. and M. Kottelat (2013). After eighty years of misidentification, a name for the glass catfish (Teleostei: Siluridae). Zootaxa 3630, 308-316
  5. Bleeker, P. (1852). Diagnostische beschrijvingen van nieuwe of weinig bekende vischsoorten van Sumatra. Tiental I - IV. Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië v. 3, 569-608
  6. Roberts, T. R. (1989). The freshwater fishes of western Borneo (Kalimantan Barat, Indonesia). Memoirs of the California Academy of Sciences 14, 1-210

Species images · 1

This species is very rare in the aquarium trade.
This species is very rare in the aquarium trade.Zhou Hang

Used with the photographer’s permission. Not licensed for reuse.

One photograph on file. More would be welcome.

Distribution

Profile completeness16 of 24

67% complete

Missing: a common name, temperament, habitat, maintenance, water condition notes, behaviour and compatibility, sexual dimorphism, reproduction.