Kryptoglanis shajii Vincent & Thomas, 2011
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
Kryptoglanis shajii is a species of subterranean catfish found in subsurface waters in the Western Ghats in Kerala, India. This cavefish grows to a length of 5.9 centimetres (2.3 in) SL. It is currently the only known member of its genus and family. Although first discovered from underground waters, it has also been seen in dense vegetation in paddy fields and was found to be common in this habitat in the Chalakudy. The species strongly avoids light and feeds on small invertebrates.
This genus and Horaglanis, both from the Western Ghats, are the only known underground-living catfish in India.
Wikipedia contributors, Kryptoglanis shajii; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:56:37.856877+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Kryptoglanis shajii Vincent & Thomas, 2011
- Name authority
- Vincent & Thomas, 2011
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Siluriformes
- Family
- Kryptoglanidae
- Genus
- Kryptoglanis
- 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
- familyKryptoglanidae Britz, Kakkassery & Raghavan, 2014
- genusKryptoglanis Vincent & Thomas, 2011
- speciesKryptoglanis shajii Vincent & Thomas, 2011
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
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.
- Vincent, M., & Thomas, J. (2011). Kryptoglanis shajii, an enigmatic subterranean-spring catfish (Siluriformes, Incertae sedis) from Kerala, India. Ichthyological Research, 58. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-011-0206-6 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:6NP7B. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.