Sperata Explained

Sperata is a genus of bagrid catfishes.

Species

There are currently six recognized species in this genus:^[1]

• Sperata acicularis Ferraris & Runge, 1999
• Sperata aor (F. Hamilton, 1822) - Long-whiskered catfish
• Sperata aorella (Blyth, 1858)
• Sperata aorides
• Sperata lamarrii
• Sperata seenghala (Sykes, 1839) - Giant river-catfish

Distribution

Species of Sperata are found in southern Asia from Afghanistan to Thailand where they are found in a wide variety of water bodies.

Relationship to humans

At least two of the Sperata species (S. aor & S. seenghala) are sport fish as well as being important food fish.

References

1. Kumar. Rahul Girish. Charan. Ravi. Krishnaprasoon. Nadumury Pradeep. Basheer. Valaparambil Saidumohammad. Catfishes of the genus Sperata (Pisces:Bagridae) in India. Journal of Fish Biology. 2021. 98. 2. 456–469. en. 10.1111/jfb.14590. 33058218. 2021JFBio..98..456K . 1095-8649. subscription.