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
Heterobranchus isopterus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
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
Species

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

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This genus contains four recent and two fossil species:[1][2]

Recent species

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Fossil species

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References

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Heterobranchus". FishBase. December 2011 version.