Mystus nigriceps (Valenciennes, 1840)
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
Mystus nigriceps, the two-spot catfish, is a species of catfish of the family Bagridae. The species was available in aquarium circles without a scientific name until a connection was made to a description of Mystus micracanthus by the ichthyologist Bleeker, in 1846. The artist's impression at that time showed a catfish without any obvious markings, although another researcher in the early 1940s described it with two body spots. M. micracanthus is a junior synonym of M. nigriceps.
In the wild it is found in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
It grows to a length of 19.8 cm and feeds on zooplankton and insect larvae in the wild, and most prepared foods in aquariums. It is not safe to keep them with smaller fish in the aquarium as they will eat them.
Wikipedia contributors, Mystus nigriceps; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:16:02.157819+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Mystus nigriceps (Valenciennes, 1840)
- Name authority
- (Valenciennes, 1840)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Siluriformes
- Family
- Bagridae
- Genus
- Mystus
- 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
- familyBagridae Bleeker, 1858
- genusMystus Scopoli, 1777
- speciesMystus nigriceps (Valenciennes, 1840)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Mystus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Mystus ankutta Pethiyagoda, Silva & Maduwage, 2008 | BagridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mystus armatus (Day, 1865) | BagridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mystus bimaculatus (Volz, 1904) | BagridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mystus bleekeri (Day, 1877) | BagridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mystus bocourti (Bleeker, 1864) | BagridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mystus carcio (Hamilton, 1822) | BagridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mystus cavasius (Hamilton, 1822) | BagridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mystus cineraceus Ng & Kottelat, 2009 | BagridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mystus dibrugarensis (Chaudhuri, 1913) | BagridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mystus punctifer Ng, Wirjoatmodjo & Hadiaty, 2001 | BagridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mystus rufescens (Vinciguerra, 1890) | BagridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mystus seengtee (Sykes, 1839) | BagridaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Bagrus micracanthus Bleeker, 1846 Bleeker, 1846 | synonym |
| Hypselobagrus nigriceps (Valenciennes, 1840) (Valenciennes, 1840) | synonym |
| Macrones nigriceps (Valenciennes, 1840) (Valenciennes, 1840) | ambiguous synonym |
| Hypselobagrus micracanthus (Bleeker, 1846) (Bleeker, 1846) | synonym |
| Bagrus nigriceps Valenciennes, 1840 Valenciennes, 1840 | synonym |
| Mystus micracanthus (Bleeker, 1846) (Bleeker, 1846) | 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=1022024 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:45FV5. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.