Basa fish

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Basa fish
Conservation status
Secure
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Siluriformes
Family: Pangasiidae
Genus: Pangasius
Species: P. bocourti
Binomial name
Pangasius bocourti
Sauvage, 1880

The basa fish, Pangasius bocourti, is a type of catfish in the family Pangasiidae. Basa are native to the Mekong River Delta in Vietnam and Chao Phraya basin.[1] These fish are important food fish with an international market. They are sometimes marketed as bocourti.[2] Other related shark catfish may be occasionally called "basa fish". These fishes include Pangasius hypophthalmus (iridescent shark) and Pangasius pangasius (yellowtail catfish).

Contents

[edit] Body

The body of a basa fish is stout and heavy. The rounded head is broader than it is long, the blunt snout having a white band on its muzzle.

[edit] Locations

Basa fish are known to be from large rivers, in rapids and in deep, slower reaches. They enter flooded forests.

[edit] Food and Spawning

Basa fish feed on plants. These fish spawn at the onset of the rainy season.[1]

[edit] Mascot

P. bocourti, known in Thai as pla mong, is the mascot of Nakhon Phanom Games, a regional multi-sport event in central Thailand in October 2006.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Pangasius bocourti". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. Mar 2007 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2007.
  2. ^ Buyer's Guide - Basa Catfish. Seafood Business (2001-11). Retrieved on 2007-03-31.
  3. ^ Mascot page (in Thai), Nakhon Phanom Games official website, 6 December 2006

[edit] External links

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