Bagarius vegrandis

Ng & Kottelat, 2021

Last revised 2026Edit this page

On this page7 sections

Etymology
Distribution
Habitat
Diet
Behaviour and compatibility
Notes
Images · 2

Subadult from Thailand.Nonn Panitvong/Siamensis.org

Quick factsEdit

Max size

220mm SL9in SL

Aquarium size

not recorded

Temp

not recorded

Hardness

not recorded

Difficulty1 of 8 measures

Not enough data to rate

How the rating is worked out

Space: large tank
Water: unknown
Temp: unknown
Diet: unknown
Temperament: unknown
Social: unknown
Compatibility: unknown

Other demands

Each of these can raise the rating on its own, whatever the measures above say.

Hardiness: unknown

Bagarius vegrandis is a small sisorid catfish from the Chao Phraya and Mekong drainages in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Described by Ng & Kottelat in 2021, it grows to about 22 cm SL, much smaller than any other Bagarius. Most records of B. bagarius from Indochina refer to it. It lives in rapids and rocky pools of large and medium-sized rivers.

Etymology

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Bagarius: from 'Vaghari', a local name in Calcutta (Kolkata).

vegrandis: from the Latin vegrandis, meaning 'little' or 'diminutive', in reference to its small size compared with other Bagarius.

Distribution

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Known from the Chao Phraya and Mekong drainages in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, and possibly Vietnam (FishBase). The Catalog of Fishes also lists China.

Type locality is 'Mekong River at Ban Tha Kai, Nakhon Phanom province, Thailand (16°27'N, 104°51'E)'.

Habitat

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Adults live in rapids and rocky pools of large and medium-sized rivers (FishBase).

Diet

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In the wild it preys on smaller fishes. In the aquarium it takes cockles, mussels, whole prawns, dead fish and earthworms (ScotCat).

Behaviour and compatibility

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Best kept alone, because it eats any tankmate small enough to fit in its mouth (ScotCat).

Notes

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Ng & Kottelat (2021) described it in the same paper that restricted B. bagarius to the Indian subcontinent. FishBase treats earlier records of B. bagarius from Indochina as this species.

It differs from the other Bagarius in its much smaller maximum size, about 22 cm SL against 52 to 140 cm SL, and in having the adipose-fin origin well behind the anal-fin origin (Ng & Kottelat, 2021).

The large Bagarius of the same rivers is B. lica, and B. suchus also occurs in the Chao Phraya and Mekong.

It is fished for food, but its meat spoils quickly and can cause illness (FishBase).

The genus Bagarius is distinguished from all other genera in the family Sisoridae by having markedly heterodont teeth in the lower jaw. Teeth are present in two or three outer rows of relatively numerous, close-set conical teeth, and one or two inner rows of less numerous, widely separated, and much larger conical teeth (vs. dentition of the lower jaw consisting of only small conical teeth, or a roughened bony plate).