Wallagonia
| Wallagonia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Wallagonia leerii | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Siluridae |
| Genus: | Wallagonia Myers, 1938 |
Wallagonia is a recently established genus of Silurid catfishes, containing 3 distinct species, all of whom are native to Southeast Asia:
For the longest time, these species were included in the genus Wallago, only in 2014 the separate genus Wallagonia was finally established based on osteological features that clearly separate the two.[1]
While W. leerii is spread widely throughout Southeast Asia, W. micropogon and W. maculatus have a highly restricted habitat, with W. micropogon only occurring in the Mekong river basin and W. maculatus only occurring in the Kinabatangan river basin on the island of Borneo. As the sole difference from W. leerii seems to be a slightly different coloration, biologists are doubtful that they are distinct species at all, instead probably being local subspecies of W. leerii. However, until further research has been performed, they are regarded as valid species.[1]
References
- 1 2 Roberts, T.R. (2014): Wallago Bleeker, 1851 and Wallagonia Myers, 1938 (Ostariophysi, Siluridae), Distinct Genera of Tropical Asian Catfishes, with Description of †Wallago maemohensis from the Miocene of Thailand. Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History, 55 (1): 35-47. doi:10.3374/014.055.0103