Edit Pangio cuneovirgata

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Name

Scientific name

Pangio cuneovirgata

Described by

Authority Raut, Year 1957, Bracketed

Family

Cobitidae

Common names

Not recorded

Photograph credits

All 6 credited

Summary

Pangio cuneovirgata is a small kuhli loach from southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and western Java, found in forest streams a…

Size and aquarium

Maximum size

40mm, standard length

Aquarium size

Minimum length 45 cm, Minimum depth 30 cm, Water movement Low: still or sluggish water

Water

Water conditions

Temperature 21–26°C, pH 3.5–7

Hardness

0–8dGH

Conductivity

Not recorded

Behaviour

Temperament

Not recorded

Community suitability

Not for a community

Where it lives

Countries, regions, rivers and lakes

Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Java, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Batang Hari, Endau

Writing

Etymology

Not written yet

Distribution

Described from the state of Johor, southern Peninsular Malaysia, with current knowledge suggesting it to be distributed southwards from Narathiwat Province, so…

Habitat

Most commonly found in shallow, slow-moving sections of forest streams or other calm habitats such as swamps, oxbows, and backwaters. Many such environments ar…

Aquarium size

An aquarium with base measurements of at least 45 ∗ 30 cm or equivalent is recommended.

Maintenance

Use a soft, sandy substrate since this species likes to dig and tends to spend some of its time completely buried. When coarser gravel is used it may become st…

Water conditions

Not written yet

Diet

Chiefly a micropredator sifting mouthfuls of substrate through the mouth and gills from which insect larvae, small crustaceans and suchlike are extracted with …

Behaviour and compatibility

Pangio spp. are peaceful both with one another and other fishes and there exist no reports of them harming tankmates though they may prey on eggs or fry. In na…

Sexual dimorphism

Adult females are typically heavier-bodied and a little larger then males, and in mature males the first pectoral-fin ray is visibly branched and thickened.

Reproduction

Unrecorded.

Notes

This species is infrequently encountered in the aquarium trade, most often as bycatch among shipments of similar-looking congeners. It's included in the P. kuh…

This species is infrequently encountered in the aquarium trade, most often as bycatch among shipments of similar-looking congeners.

It's included in the P. kuhlii-oblonga group of closely-related species within the genus as per Bohlen et al. (2011), and can be distinguished from other members by the following combination of characters: possession of long nasal barbels pierced at the base by anterior nostrils; truncate caudal-fin; 7-13 dark saddles restricted to the upper half of the body; a black blotch at the base of the caudal-fin; caudal-fin hyaline; upper half of body with yellowish background colouration.

Within the group P. cuneovirgata looks most similar to P. malayana but can be told apart by possessing nasal barbels (vs. not possessing) and a truncate caudal-fin (vs. emarginate).

Kottelat and Lim (1993)[5] suggested that the P. kuhlii and P. oblonga groups represent two of four such assemblages within the genus alongside the P. anguillaris and P. shelfordii groups. P. cuneovirgata was included in the P. khulii group based on its barred colour pattern and lack of labial barbels.

This unofficial system was followed until Bohlen et al. (2011) published a molecular phylogenetic analysis including 18 recognised species plus a number of undescribed ones.

Their results suggest the existence of three, rather than four, major lineages within the genus; the P. anguillaris and P. shelfordii groups represent two of them with Kottelat and Lim's P. kuhlii and P. oblonga groups together forming the third.

Within this third lineage are three sublineages formed by P. filinaris, an apparently undescribed fish from the Temburong River in Brunei referred to as P. cf. oblonga IV, and all other species in the group, respectively.

Species in the P. khulii and P. oblonga groups had previously been separated largely on the basis of colour pattern, i.e., barred vs. plain brown, but in the molecular analysis the barred species grouped within the brown. They also display a high degree of morphological affinity with simlarities in body shape and the number of vertebrae.

One brown specimen even grouped together with the barred P. malayana collected from the same locality rather than any of the other plain fish, suggesting a degree of phenotypic variability within species may also be involved.

Pangio is among the most speciose cobitid genera and widespread throughout South and Southeast Asia with species diversity thought to be considerably greater than currently recognised.

Pangio species are often generically referred to as 'kuhli' or 'coolie' loaches in the aquarium hobby, the latter a variation of the former which was itself derived from the surname of German naturalist Heinrich Kuhl (1797-1821). Ichthyologists tend to refer to them as 'eel loaches'.

They're distinguished from other cobitids by their long, slender body shape, relatively high number of vertebrae and the position of the dorsal-fin which is situated well behind the origin of the pelvic fins (vs. in front of, above or only slightly behind).

Several described members were previously included in the genus Acanthophthalmus which Kottelat (1987) demonstrated to be a syonym of Cobitis, and he chose the replacement name Pangio in preference to its simultaneous synonym Apua (Blyth, 1860).

Myers (1929) placed P. anguillaris as type species of Cobitophis, a grouping containing the very elongate species, while Perugia (1892) originally described P. doriae in the genus Eucirrhichthys. The former was synonymised with Acanthophthalmus by Nalbant (1963) and the latter by Roberts (1989).

The family Cobitidae, often referred to as 'true' loaches, is widely-distributed across most of Eurasia with the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and China representing particular centres of species diversity.

Phylogenetic analyses by Tang et al. (2006), Šlechtová et al. (2007) and Šlechtová et al. (2008) revealed that the group constitutes a separate genetic lineage to the family Botiidae (the two were previously grouped together under Cobitidae as subfamilies Cobitinae and Botiinae).

In the most recent study Pangio was found to be more closely affiliated with Acantopsis, Acanthopsoides and Kottelatlimia than Lepidocephalichthys as had been previously hypothesised.

All cobitids possess sharp, motile, sub-ocular spines which are normally concealed within a pouch of skin but erected when an individual is stressed, e.g. if removed from the water. Care is therefore necessary as these can become entangled in aquarium nets and with larger species even break human skin.

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References

11 on this profile

Name

Scientific name

Described by

Family

Common names

Photograph credits

Summary

Size and aquarium

Maximum size

Aquarium size

Water

Water conditions

Hardness

Conductivity

Behaviour

Temperament

Social needs

Community suitability

Where it lives

Countries, regions, rivers and lakes

Writing

Etymology

Distribution

Habitat

Aquarium size

Maintenance

Water conditions

Diet

Behaviour and compatibility

Sexual dimorphism

Reproduction

Notes

References

References