Heterobranchus is a genus of airbreathing catfishes native to Africa. However, H. palaeindicus, an extinct species of the genus, was discovered in the Siwalik Hills, India, dating to the Lower Pliocene.[1]
| Heterobranchus Temporal range: Lower Pliocene - Recent
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| Heterobranchus isopterus | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Clariidae |
| Genus: | Heterobranchus É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1809 |
| Type species | |
| Heterobranchus bidorsalis É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1809
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| Species | |
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6, see text. | |
Depending on the exact species involved, fish of this genus reach from 64 to 150 cm (25 to 59 in) with H. longifilis being the largest strict freshwater fish in southern Africa, reaching 150 cm (59 in) SL and weighing up to 55 kg (121 lb).[2]
Species edit
This genus contains four recent and two fossil species:[1][2]
Recent species edit
- Heterobranchus bidorsalis É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1809 (African Catfish)
- Heterobranchus boulengeri (Pellegrin, 1922)
- Heterobranchus isopterus (Bleeker, 1863) —found in West Africa—
- Heterobranchus longifilis Valenciennes, 1840 (Vundu; Sampa)
Fossil species edit
- †Heterobranchus austriacus (Thenius, 1952)
- †Heterobranchus palaeindicus (Lydekker, 1886)
References edit
- ^ a b Ferraris, Carl J. Jr. (2007). "Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1418: 1–628.
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2011). Species of Heterobranchus in FishBase. December 2011 version.
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