Pangasius kunyit Pouyaud, Teugels & Legendre, 1999
photo by Cacot, P.

Family:  Pangasiidae (Shark catfishes)
Max. size:  70.2 cm SL (female)
Environment:  benthopelagic; freshwater; brackish
Distribution:  Asia: major drainages from Sumatra, Indonesia (Musi, Batang Hari and Indragiri rivers); also present in eastern Kalimantan (Mahakam, Kapuas and Barito rivers), Sabah, Malaysia (Kinabatanagan River) and Viet Nam (Mekong delta).
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 2-2; Anal soft rays: 30-33. Distinguished from all other Pangasius species by the combination of the following characters: a somewhat spatulated (broad and rounded) head (snout length 40.0-53.4% HL; head depth 48.0-54.7% HL; head width 70.7-76.6% HL); short palatine tooth plates (10.0-12.8% HL); a very robust dorsal spine (width of spine 9.25-11.2 times in its length).
Biology:  Inhabits deeper waters. Occurs sympatrically with P. krempfi in the Mekong delta. It is considered as a candidate species for aquaculture and its reproduction in captivity has already been achieved in the Mekong delta, Viet Nam (Ref. 33567).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 01 September 2018 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


Source and more info: www.fishbase.org. For personal, classroom, and other internal use only. Not for publication.