Taxonomy of Finfish (1+2)

4.2.32 Kry[Tp]teris bicirrhus

Family: Siluridae

Genus: Kryptopterus

English name: Ghost fish

Origin: Indonesia, Borneo, Sumatra, Thailand

Size: Maximum 15 cm in the wild, no more than 12 cm in captivity

Habitat: Found in shady spots in running waters.

Shape, coloring and marking:

The body is very elongated and laterally very compressed. The head and bocy cavity are no more than a fifth of the total length. There are two long hair-like barbells on the upper jaw which serve as a tactile organ as well as an organ of test. The anal fin is very long and runs from the anal opening to the base of the caudal fin, although the two fins are clearly separated. The dorsal fin consists of a single hard ray. The caudal fin is deeply forked and the upper lobe is noticeably larger and K.bicirrhus is completely translucent except for the stomach cavity. Depending on the way the light catches it the fish becomes indecent and any color from a bright yellow to a dark purplis-violet without losing its translucence. In semi darkness the fish seems to be a fluorescent blue.

No external sexual characteristics have been identified with certainty but some authorities claim that the males are always smaller and more slender than the females.