Porochilus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Porochilus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Siluriformes Family: Plotosidae Genus: Porochilus Weber, 1913
Type species
Porochilus obbesi Weber, 1913
Binomial name
Porochilus meraukensis (Weber, 1913) Porochilus obbesi Weber, 1913

Porochilus is a genus of catfishes (order Siluriformes) of the family Plotosidae. It includes two species, P. meraukensis and P. obbesi.^[1] These two species are found in Southern Papua New Guinea in the area that was formerly known as Irian Jaya.^[1] P. meraukensis grows to 24 centimetres (9 in) TL, while P. obbesi grows to 12 cm (5 in) TL.^[2][3] P. meraukensis is found in quiet backwaters or in well vegetated, swampy lagoons and lakes.^[2] P. obbesi lives in slow-flowing streams, backwaters, swamps and lily lagoons, usually among aquatic weeds such as eelgrass; it is also found in lakes. P. obbesi feeds on insects, prawns and mollusks.^[3]

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} Ferraris, Carl J., Jr. (2007). "Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types" (PDF). Zootaxa 1418: 1–628. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Porochilus meraukensis". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. Aug 2007 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2007.
3. ^ ^{a b} "Porochilus obbesi". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. Aug 2007 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2007.