Catfishes Of India

Nearly thirty years ago, 29 years to be exact, a concise systematic account of the Catfishes (order Siluriformes) of the Indian region consisting of India, Bangaldesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka was published by the late Dr. K.S. Misra of the Zoological Survey of India in the Fauna of India series. In the intervening years the concept of catfish taxonomy has undergone vast changes. Many new taxa have been described. A new interest in unraveling the intricate phylogeny of the catfishes, especially of the Oriental region has arisen. The US National Science foundation has sponsored a project All Catfish Species Inventory (ACSI) in which many catfish specialists and students all over the world are involved. Many foreign ichthyologists engaged themselves in this study and new areas in Myanmar have been explored resulting in the discovery and description of many new taxa. Some changes in the generic allocations and family make up have also been published. Though India and the adjacent countries are rich in their biodiversity and especially in the faunal constituents unfortunately much remain to to be done. This book is the cumulative work of the author who has been studying the siluriformes for over 50 years. All recent findings and theories have been incorporated in this book. It describes in full 197 species of catfishes found in the Indian region, under 52 genera, 13 families. Two new subfamilies have been described. It is almost on the model of Day's Fish India though the synonymies given are more elaborate and descriptions are with essential data. A uniform pattern of citation is done for easy comparisons; 182 species have been illustrated many in colour which would supplement the descriptions and also serve as an atlas for these fishes. The publication would serve as a contribution to the aforesaid ACSI project so far as the species of Indian region are concerned.