Tanguar Haor ( Bengali : টাঙ্গুয়ার হাওর ), located in the Dharmapasha and Tahirpur upazilas of Sunamganj District in Bangladesh , is a unique wetland ecosystem of national importance and has come into international focus. The area of Tanguar Haor including 46 villages within the haor is about 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi) of which 2,802.36 ha is wetland. It is the source of livelihood for more than 40,000 people. Bangladesh declared it an Ecologically Critical Area in 1999 considering its critical condition as a result of overexploitation of its natural resources.
48-779: Every winter the haor is home to about 200 types of migratory birds. In 1999–2000, the government earned 7,073,184 takas as revenue just from fisheries of the haor. There are more than 140 species of fresh water fish in the haor. The more predominant among them are: ayir , Cat fish , baim, tara, gutum, gulsha, tengra, titna, garia, beti, kakia . Gulli, balua, ban tulsi , nalkhagra and other freshwater wetland trees are in this haor. Plant species like Hizol ( Barringtonia acutangula ), Clematis cadmia , Crataeva nurvala , Euryale ferox , Nelumbo nucifera , Ottelia alismoides , Oxystelma secamone var. secamone , Pongamia pinnata , Rosa clinophylla , and Typha species are present. It has become more popular with tourists as
96-740: A hydrofoil . Some have a mouth that can expand to a large size and contains no incisiform teeth; catfish generally feed through suction or gulping rather than biting and cutting prey. Some families, though, notably the Loricariidae and Astroblepidae , have a suckermouth that allows them to fasten themselves to objects in fast-moving water. Catfish also have a maxilla reduced to a support for barbels ; this means that they are unable to protrude their mouths as other fish such as carp . Catfish may have up to four pairs of barbels - nasal, maxillary (on each side of mouth), and two pairs of chin barbels, though pairs of barbels may be absent depending on
144-464: A bullhead catfish by the nickname "chucklehead", while in another state or region, that nickname refers to the blue catfish. Representatives of the genus Ictalurus have been introduced into European waters in the hope of obtaining a sporting and food resource, but the European stock of American catfishes has not achieved the dimensions of these fish in their native waters and have only increased
192-491: A catfish weighing 88 kilograms (194 lb) was caught in the River Ebro , Spain, by an 11-year-old British schoolgirl. Weberian apparatus The Weberian apparatus is an anatomical structure that connects the swim bladder to the auditory system in fishes belonging to the superorder Ostariophysi . When it is fully developed in adult fish, the elements of the apparatus are sometimes collectively referred to as
240-484: A defense, these spines may be locked into place so that they stick outwards, enabling them to inflict severe wounds. In numerous catfish species, these fin rays can be used to deliver a stinging protein if the fish is irritated; as many as half of all catfish species may be venomous in this fashion, making the Siluriformes overwhelmingly the vertebrate order with the largest number of venomous species. This venom
288-478: A diverse group of ray-finned fish . Named for their prominent barbels , which resemble a cat 's whiskers , catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia , the wels catfish of Eurasia , and the piraíba of South America , to detritivores (species that eat dead material on the bottom), and even to a tiny parasitic species commonly called
336-495: A juvenile obaichthyid lepisosteiform , possibly a junior synonym of Obaichthys . The authors of the original study still stood by their original conclusion based on the absence of important holostean characters, and noted that it could not be a juvenile, since the bones were completely ossified. The taxonomy of catfish is quickly changing. In a 2007 and 2008 paper, Horabagrus , Phreatobius , and Conorhynchos were not classified under any current catfish families. There
384-843: A rate three times faster than that of the past century. In June 2005, researchers named the newest family of catfish, Lacantuniidae , only the third new family of fish distinguished in the last seventy years, the others being the coelacanth in 1938 and the megamouth shark in 1983. The new species in Lacantuniidae , Lacantunia enigmatica , was found in the Lacantun river in the Mexican state of Chiapas . The higher-level phylogeny of Siluriformes has gone through several recent changes, mainly due to molecular phylogenetic studies. While most studies, both morphological and molecular, agree that catfishes are arranged into three main lineages ,
432-543: A result of long branch attraction , incorrectly placing Loricarioidei as the earliest-branching catfish lineage. When a data filtering method was used to reduce lineage rate heterogeneity (the potential source of bias) on their dataset, a final phylogeny was recovered which showed the Diplomystidae are the earliest-branching catfish, followed by Loricarioidei and Siluroidei as sister lineages, providing both morphological and molecular support for Diplomystidae being
480-536: A structure composed of fused neural spines form the dorsal most part of the Weberian apparatus. Together, the structure interacts anteriorly with the lagenar otolith set within the skull and posteriorly with the swim bladder via the pleural rib. Postero-ventrally, it is the tripus, the os suspensorium and the third rib that interact directly with the anterior chamber of the swim bladder . The Weberian apparatus functions by transmitting auditory signals straight from
528-749: A tourist attraction due to the number of houseboats plying at Tanguar Haor. There is a big houseboat in Tanguar Haor. It is a huge, slow-moving barges used for leisure trips. This service is inspired from the houseboat Rabindranath Tagore used during his visit to Shilaidaha . It is in service from since 2021. It is about 71 feet (22 m) long and about 14 feet (4.3 m) wide at the middle. 25°09′N 91°04′E / 25.150°N 91.067°E / 25.150; 91.067 Cat fish Extant families: Extinct family: Catfish (or catfishes ; order Siluriformes / s ɪ ˈ lj ʊər ɪ f ɔːr m iː z / or Nematognathi ) are
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#1732791609565576-573: Is Phreatobius cisternarum , known to live underground in phreatic habitats. Numerous species from the families Ariidae and Plotosidae , and a few species from among the Aspredinidae and Bagridae , are found in salt water. In the Southern United States, catfish species may be known by a variety of slang names, such as "mud cat", "polliwogs", or "chuckleheads". These nicknames are not standardized, so one area may call
624-452: Is derived from skeletal elements of the first four vertebrae . The involved elements include: the supraneural bones of the skull; modified neural arch bones, specifically the paired claustra and the scaphia ; the intercalarium and the lateral processes; the tripus; the os suspensorium from the fourth vertebra; the parapophysis of vertebra number five including the vertebra itself, plus the vertebra's corresponding pleural rib. In addition,
672-620: Is disagreement on the family status of certain groups; for example, Nelson (2006) lists Auchenoglanididae and Heteropneustidae as separate families, while the All Catfish Species Inventory (ACSI) includes them under other families. FishBase and the Integrated Taxonomic Information System lists Parakysidae as a separate family, while this group is included under Akysidae by both Nelson (2006) and ACSI. Many sources do not list
720-481: Is produced by glandular cells in the epidermal tissue covering the spines. In members of the family Plotosidae and of the genus Heteropneustes , this protein is so strong it may hospitalize humans who receive a sting; in Plotosus lineatus , the stings can be lethal. The dorsal- and pectoral-fin spines are two of the most conspicuous features of siluriforms, and differ from those in other fish groups. Despite
768-577: Is usually considered to be the earliest branching catfish lineage and the sister group to the other two lineages, Loricarioidei and Siluroidei. Molecular evidence usually contrasts with this hypothesis, and shows the suborder Loricarioidei as the earliest branching catfish lineage, and sister to a clade that includes the Diplomystidae and Siluroidei; this phylogeny has been obtained in numerous studies based on genetic data. However, it has been suggested that these molecular results are errors as
816-795: The Cypriniformes (carps and minnows), Characiformes (characins and tetras), Gonorynchiformes (milkfish and beaked salmons) and Gymnotiformes (South American knifefish), a superorder characterized by the Weberian apparatus . Some place Gymnotiformes as a sub-order of Siluriformes; however, this is not as widely accepted. Currently, the Siluriformes are said to be the sister group to the Gymnotiformes, though this has been debated due to more recent molecular evidence. As of 2007 there were about thirty-six extant catfish families, and about 3,093 extant species have been described. This makes
864-795: The Late Cretaceous , including the Andinichthyidae , Vorhisia vulpes and possibly Arius . A potential fossil record is known from the earlier Coniacian - Santonian stages in Niger of West Africa , though this has been considered unreliable, and the putative earliest armored catfish known from the fossil record, Afrocascudo , lived during the Cenomanian age of the Late Cretaceous in Morocco of North Africa ( Kem Kem Group ). The describers of Afrocascudo claimed that
912-462: The Swim bladder . Another crucial feature is the anterior otophysic diverticula of the swim bladder and contacting the inner ear , seen in extant Clupeiformes . There is also a relationship between the interossicular ligament and the swim bladder that it originated from the swim bladder diverticulum. This was shown by comparing the fiber of the ligament and the tunica externa of the swim bladder that have
960-468: The Weberian ossicles or Weber's ossicles . The presence of the structure is one of the most important and phylogenetically significant distinguishing characteristics of the Ostariophysi. The structure itself consists of a set of minute bones that originate from the first few vertebrae to develop in an embryonic ostariophysan. These bones grow to physically connect the auditory system, specifically
1008-418: The candiru , Vandellia cirrhosa . Neither the armour-plated types nor the naked types have scales. Despite their name, not all catfish have prominent barbels or "whiskers". Members of the Siluriformes order are defined by features of the skull and swimbladder . Catfish are of considerable commercial importance; many of the larger species are farmed or fished for food. Many of the smaller species, particularly
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#17327916095651056-430: The gas bladder , through the Weberian ossicles and then straight into the labyrinth structures of the inner ear . The structure essentially acts as an amplifier of sound waves that would otherwise be only slightly perceivable by the inner ear structure alone. With the added function of the swim bladder as a Resonance chamber , signals are amplified to noticeable levels. Embryonic analysis of Weberian apparatuses of
1104-438: The inner ear , to the swim bladder. The structure acts as an amplifier of sound waves that would otherwise be only slightly perceivable by the inner ear structure alone. The generalized structure of the Weberian apparatus is akin to a skeletal complex of bones and ossicles that are physically connected to the labyrinth auditory complex anteriorly and the anteriormost region of the swim bladder posteriorly. The entire structure
1152-521: The Americas. They are the only ostariophysans that have entered freshwater habitats in Madagascar , Australia, and New Guinea . They are found in fresh water/ brackish water environments, though most inhabit shallow, running water. Representatives of at least eight families are hypogean (live underground) with three families that are also troglobitic (inhabiting caves). One such species
1200-464: The Weberian apparatus of S. diasii . Only the first four vertebrae are involved in the Weberian apparatus of Santanichthys ; There are no signs of involvement from the elements of the fifth vertebra unlike in modern otophysans. An important feature within the formation of the Weberian apparatus, which is a synapomorphy of the Otocephala, is the attachment of the anterior Pleural cavity (rib) to
1248-422: The aforementioned taxon, the Weberian apparatus is fairly developed; there is a distinguishable intercalarium and a tripus which articulate with the second and third vertebrae respectively. A scaphium can be seen in at least two specimens. The neural arch of the third vertebra has already broadened, almost similar to that of modern ostariophysans. The claustrum, an element in modern apparati, is noticeably absent from
1296-538: The ariid catfish, where the young retain yolk sacs late into juvenile stages, and many pimelodids, which may have elongated barbels and fin filaments or coloration patterns. Sexual dimorphism is reported in about half of all families of catfish. The modification of the anal fin into an intromittent organ (in internal fertilizers) as well as accessory structures of the reproductive apparatus (in both internal and external fertilizers) have been described in species belonging to 11 different families. Catfish have one of
1344-471: The armor is formed solely by expanded vertebral processes that form plates. Finally, the lateral armor of doradids , Sisor , and hoplomyzontines consists of hypertrophied lateral line ossicles with dorsal and ventral lamina . All catfish other than members of the Malapteruridae ( electric catfish ), possess a strong, hollow, bony, leading spine-like ray on their dorsal and pectoral fins . As
1392-518: The catfish order the second or third most diverse vertebrate order; in fact, one out of every twenty vertebrate species is a catfish. Catfish are believed to have a Gondwanan origin primarily centered around South America, as the most basal living catfish groups are known from there. The earliest known definitive members lived in the Americas from the Campanian to Maastrichtian stages of
1440-485: The development (and thus the homology ) of the structures that form the structure. Specific studies have been done on the Weberian apparatuses of a few select taxa, including Danio rerio , Rhaphiodon vulpinus and Corydoras paleatus . The earliest recorded incidence of a Weberian apparatus is from the fossil fish Santanichthys diasii dating from the Early Cretaceous of Northeastern Brazil . In
1488-1533: The earliest branching catfish. Below is a list of family relationships by different authors. Lacantuniidae is included in the Sullivan scheme based on recent evidence that places it sister to Claroteidae . Phylogeny of living Siluriformes based on 2017 and extinct families based on Nelson, Grande & Wilson 2016. † Andinichthyidae Nematogenyidae [REDACTED] Trichomycteridae [REDACTED] Callichthyidae [REDACTED] Astroblepidae [REDACTED] Loricariidae [REDACTED] Diplomystidae † Bachmanniidae † Hypsidoridae Cetopsidae [REDACTED] Siluridae [REDACTED] Pangasiidae Mochokidae [REDACTED] Claroteidae Plotosidae Ictaluridae [REDACTED] Clariidae [REDACTED] Ailiidae Sisoridae [REDACTED] Bagridae [REDACTED] Aspredinidae Doradidae [REDACTED] Auchenipteridae [REDACTED] Heptapteridae [REDACTED] Pseudopimelodidae [REDACTED] Pimelodidae [REDACTED] Unassigned families: Extant catfish species live inland or in coastal waters of every continent except Antarctica . Catfish have inhabited all continents at one time or another. They are most diverse in tropical South America, Asia, and Africa, with one family native to North America and one family in Europe. More than half of all catfish species live in
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1536-429: The ecological pressure on native European fauna . Walking catfish have also been introduced in the freshwater areas of Florida, with the voracious catfish becoming a major alien pest there. Flathead catfish , Pylodictis olivaris , is also a North American pest on Atlantic slope drainages. Pterygoplichthys species, released by aquarium fishkeepers, have also established feral populations in many warm waters around
1584-439: The former ranges throughout Europe, and the latter is restricted to Greece . Mythology and literature record wels catfish of astounding proportions yet are to be proven scientifically. The typical size of the species is about 1.2–1.6 m (3.9–5.2 ft), and fish more than 2 m (6.6 ft) are rare. However, they are known to exceed 2.5 m (8.2 ft) in length and 100 kg (220 lb) in weight. In July 2009,
1632-493: The genus Corydoras , are important in the aquarium hobby . Many catfish are nocturnal , but others (many Auchenipteridae ) are crepuscular or diurnal (most Loricariidae or Callichthyidae , for example). Molecular evidence suggests that in spite of the great morphological diversity in the order, all catfish form a monophyletic group. Catfish belong to a superorder called the Ostariophysi , which also includes
1680-456: The genus is possible. As far as known for most catfish, features that are often characteristic of species, such as mouth and fin positions, fin shapes, and barbel lengths, show little difference between juveniles and adults. For many species, pigmentation pattern is also similar in juveniles and adults. Thus, juvenile catfish generally resemble and develop smoothly into their adult form without distinct juvenile specializations. Exceptions to this are
1728-404: The largest ranges in size within a single order of bony fish . Many catfish have a maximum length of under 12 cm (4.7 in). Some of the smallest species of the Aspredinidae and Trichomycteridae reach sexual maturity at only 1 cm (0.39 in). The wels catfish , Silurus glanis , and the much smaller related Aristotle's catfish , are the only catfish indigenous to Europe ;
1776-574: The order. In loricarioids and in the Asian genus Sisor , the armor is primarily made up of one or more rows of free dermal plates. Similar plates are found in large specimens of Lithodoras . These plates may be supported by vertebral processes , as in scoloplacids and in Sisor , but the processes never fuse to the plates or form any external armor. By contrast, in the subfamily Doumeinae (family Amphiliidae ) and in hoplomyzontines ( Aspredinidae ),
1824-439: The parapophysis and the articulating rib (R3), including the vertebra itself form the posterior structure of the Weberian apparatus. The neural spines of the first four vertebrae fuse and compress, forming one of the major structures of the apparatus. Study of the embryology of the Weberian apparatus has since been conducted on various other ostariophysan species, the outcomes of which have resulted in various interpretations of
1872-467: The presence of a Weberian apparatus . Their well-developed Weberian apparatus and reduced gas bladder allow for improved hearing and sound production. Catfish do not have scales ; their bodies are often naked. In some species, their mucus -covered skin is used in cutaneous respiration , where the fish breathes through its skin. In some catfish, the skin is covered in bony plates called scutes ; some form of body armor appears in various ways within
1920-517: The presence of a derived loricariid so early on would indicate the extensive diversification of catfish, or at least loricarioids, prior to the beginning of the Late Cretaceous. As extant loricariids are only known from South America, much of this diversification must have occurred on the supercontinent of West Gondwana prior to its fragmentation into South America and Africa. Britz and colleagues suggested that Afrocascudo instead represents
1968-430: The recently revised family Anchariidae . The family Horabagridae , including Horabagrus , Pseudeutropius , and Platytropius , is not shown by some authors but presented by others as a true group. Thus, the actual number of families differs between authors. The species count is in constant flux due to taxonomic work as well as description of new species. Between 2003 and 2005, over one hundred species were named,
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2016-507: The relationship among these lineages has been a contentious point in which these studies, performed for example by Rui Diogo , differ. The three main lineages in Siluriformes are the family Diplomystidae , the denticulate catfish suborder Loricarioidei (containing the Neotropical "suckermouth" catfishes), and the suborder Siluroidei, which contains the remaining families of the order. According to morphological data, Diplomystidae
2064-513: The same histological composition of elastin and icthyocoll (a specific type I collagen), as established in a research by Rui Diogo . The Weberian apparatus is named after the German anatomist and physiologist Ernst Heinrich Weber (1795 – 1878). The apparatus was first described in detail by Weber. Only four bones were identified, specifically the claustrum, scaphium, intercalarium and tripus. Together, these elements were hypothesized to play
2112-475: The species. Catfish barbels always occur in pairs. Many larger catfish also have chemoreceptors across their entire bodies, which means they "taste" anything they touch and "smell" any chemicals in the water. "In catfish, gustation plays a primary role in the orientation and location of food". Because their barbels and chemoreception are more important in detecting food, the eyes on catfish are generally small. Like other ostariophysans , they are characterized by
2160-404: The taxon Brycon has shed some light on the development of the structure itself. The Weberian apparatus elements form from the fully distinguishable first five vertebrae of the individual. The supraneural starts as an element of the skull. The claustra and the scaphia develop from expanded elements of the neural arch of the first vertebra (V1). From the second vertebra (V2), the intercalarum and
2208-413: The vertebra's lateral process are reduced and clump together. The plural rib (R1) of the third vertebra (V3) shrinks and moves somewhat ventrally, forming the tripus from a vertebral parapophysis fusing with the pleural rib. The os suspensorium bone of the fourth vertebra (V4) somewhat retains its shape, developing from the pleural rib of the vertebra (R2). The remaining elements of the fifth vertebra (V5),
2256-599: The widespread use of the spines for taxonomic and phylogenetic studies the fields have struggled to effectively use the information due to a lack of consistency in the nomenclature, with a general standard for the descriptive anatomy of catfish spines proposed in 2022 to try and resolve this problem. Juvenile catfish, like most fish, have relatively large heads, eyes, and posterior median fins in comparison to larger, more mature individuals. These juveniles can be readily placed in their families, particularly those with highly derived fin or body shapes; in some cases, identification of
2304-428: The world. Most catfish are bottom feeders . In general, they are negatively buoyant , which means that they usually sink rather than float due to a reduced gas bladder and a heavy, bony head. Catfish have a variety of body shapes, though most have a cylindrical body with a flattened ventrum to allow for benthic feeding. A flattened head allows for digging through the substrate, as well as perhaps serving as
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