Ebook Info.

This book presents a comprehensive systematic account of all the so far known freshwater catfishes of the Order Siluriformes from the Indian region (India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan
and Sri Lanka). A similar account was published by the late Dr. K. S. Misra (1976) in the Fauna India series and issued by the Zoological Survey of India. It dealt with 151 species and 3 subspecies
belonging to 12 families. Three subfamilies were termed as new : Bagarinae, Glyptosterninae and Sisorinae and a new genus Pseudolaguvia. The classification adopted was as per L. S. Berg’s work (1940). Misra’s work is now outdated in the light of recent researches; for instance the number of families are now 13 from 12 and the species are about 200. Misra’s scheme of arrangement is also not in conformity with modern concepts. Talwar and Jhingran’s (1991) admirable work on the Inland fishes enlarged the scope of Misra’s work and covered many more genera and species; however since the work embraced all the Inland fishes the siluroids were treated only briefly. In recent years new knowledge arising out of intense revisionary studies of several families and genera have completely changed the framework of the order Siluriformes, especially in respect of the fishes of the Indian subcontinent. Literature pertaining to these findings are also scattered and not easily accessible to many. In order to fill up this long overdue revision of the Indian region siluroids this book was prepared. It presents a systematic account of all the Indian region catfishes on the latest developed model and 197 species, five subspecies under 52 genera, 13 families and 14 subfamilies are described in full with 163 text figures 48 colour photos in 11 plates. It is a fond hope that the illustrations will serve as an Atlas for these fishes, and the work as a whole will serve as a tool for further comprehension of catfish taxonomy.