Clarias nieuhofii 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
Clarias nieuhofii, the slender walking catfish, is a species of clariid catfish. It has a wide distribution in Southeast Asia including southern Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malay Peninsula, parts of the Greater Sunda Islands (Indonesia and Malaysia, including Borneo), and the Philippines.
Named in honor of Johan Nieuhof (1618-1672), Dutch East India Company, who described and illustrated this species in 1682 (but later examination of Nieuhof's illustration reveals it is a different species).
This species can be distinguished from other Clarias catfishes, apart from the recently discovered Clarias batu and Clarias nigricans, by the greatly elongated body which gives it a remarkably eel-like appearance. The colour is generally grey with two rows of white spots running along the length of the body just below the lateral line and 13 or 14 vertical rows of white spots just above the line. Specimens of up to 50 cm (19.7 inches) standard length have been recorded.
Wikipedia contributors, Clarias nieuhofii; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:21:43.937479+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Clarias nieuhofii Valenciennes, 1840
- Name authority
- Valenciennes, 1840
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Siluriformes
- Family
- Clariidae
- Genus
- Clarias
- 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
- familyClariidae Bonaparte, 1845
- genusClarias Scopoli, 1777
- speciesClarias nieuhofii Valenciennes, 1840
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Clarias. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Clarias albopunctatus Nichols & La Monte, 1953 | ClariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarias buthupogon Sauvage, 1879 | ClariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarias cataractus (Fowler, 1939) | ClariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarias dumerilii Steindachner, 1866 | ClariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarias pseudonieuhofii Sudarto, Teugels & Pouyaud, 2004 | ClariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarias salae Hubrecht, 1881 | ClariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarias dussumieri Valenciennes, 1840 | ClariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarias longior Boulenger, 1907 | ClariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarias olivaceus Fowler, 1904 | ClariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarias dayi Hora, 1936 | ClariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarias buettikoferi Steindachner, 1894 | ClariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarias dhonti (Boulenger, 1920) | ClariidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Clarias gilli Smith & Seale, 1906 Smith & Seale, 1906 | synonym |
| Clarias nieuhoffi Valenciennes, 1840 Valenciennes, 1840 | synonym |
| Clarias nieuhofi Valenciennes, 1840 Valenciennes, 1840 | synonym |
| Clarias pentapterus Bleeker, 1851 Bleeker, 1851 | synonym |
| Prophagorus nieuhofi (Valenciennes, 1840) (Valenciennes, 1840) | 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.
- Cuvier, G., & Valenciennes, A. (1840). Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome quinzième. Suite du livre dix-septième. Siluroïdes. Tome Quinzième. Suite Du Livre Dix-Septième. Siluroïdes., v. 15: i–xxxi + 1–540, Pls. 421–455. [Valenciennes authored volume. i–xxiv + 1–397 in Strasbourg edition.]. 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:VRDW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.