Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch, 1794)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Heteropneustes fossilis, also known as Asian stinging catfish or fossil cat, is a species of airsac catfish found in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, and Bhutan. It has also been introduced to the Tigris River Basin in western Iran.
Wikipedia contributors, Heteropneustes fossilis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:48:01.710821+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch, 1794)
- Name authority
- (Bloch, 1794)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Siluriformes
- Family
- Heteropneustidae
- Genus
- Heteropneustes
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderSiluriformes
- familyHeteropneustidae Hora, 1936
- genusHeteropneustes Müller, 1840
- speciesHeteropneustes fossilis (Bloch, 1794)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Heteropneustes. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Heteropneustes longipectoralis Rema Devi & Raghunathan, 1999 | HeteropneustidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Heteropneustes kemratensis (Fowler, 1937) | HeteropneustidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Heteropneustes microps (Günther, 1864) | HeteropneustidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Heteropneustes nani Hossain, Sarker, Sharifuzzaman & Chowdhury, 2013 | HeteropneustidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Saccobranchus singio (Hamilton, 1822) (Hamilton, 1822) | synonym |
| Silurus biserratus Swainson, 1839 Swainson, 1839 | synonym |
| Silurus singio Hamilton, 1822 Hamilton, 1822 | synonym |
| Saccobranchus fossilis (Bloch, 1794) (Bloch, 1794) | synonym |
| Saccobranchus microcephalus Günther, 1864 Günther, 1864 | synonym |
| Silurus fossilis Bloch, 1794 Bloch, 1794 | synonym |
| Silurus laticeps Swainson, 1838 Swainson, 1838 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=281072 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3LC74. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.