Wallago leerii

(Bleeker, 1851)

Vernacular names
English : Great tapah
French : Silure hélicoptère

Classification
Class : Teleostei
Order : Siluriformes
Family : Siluridae
Notes : No subspecies known

Identification
Wide head with two long barbels and large mouth with protruding lower lip. Round belly, whitish throat and belly. Rest of body grey with two broad horizontal bands on flanks, reaching tail.

Range and habitat
Southeast Asia, from Thailand (but not in the Mekong valley) to greater Sundas in Indonesia. Found in large streams and rivers, often over muddy bottoms, with overhanging vegetation.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : LEAST CONCERN
CITES : Not Listed
Status : The species seems to be common and occurs in protected areas. Probably locally overcaught for food and declining but threats have yet to be properly quantified.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

Back to “Other catfish species” page