A new bagrid catfish has been described from central Vietnam.
Naming the new catfish Tachysurus spilotus in a recent issue of the journal Zootaxa, Heok Hee Ng distinguishes it from congeners in having a combination of: black longitudinal stripes on a pale body, a notched dark dorsal band, the presence of dark spots at the basal third of the caudal-fin lobes, gently convex posterior edges of the caudal-fin lobes, maxillary barbels shorter than the head, and length of the dorsal-fin spine 15.1"19.0% standard length.
Tachysurus spilotus is named after the spots on the caudal fin (Greek spilotos=spot) and inhabits small to medium sized streams and rivers, being more frequently encountered in streams with fast running waters and stony substrate.
For more information, see the paper: Ng, HH (2009) Tachysurus spilotus, a new species of catfish from central Vietnam (Teleostei: Bagridae). Zootaxa 2283, pp. 16"28.