A new bagrid catfish has been described from the upper Irrawaddy River drainage in northern Myanmar.
The description of the new species, named Batasio procerus by Heok Hee Ng, is published in the latest issue of the journal Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters.
Batasio procerus can be distinguished from other members of the genus (except B. macronotus and B. travancoria) in having more vertebrae (41-43 vs. 35-40) and (except B. dayi and B. elongatus, which have 36-38 vertebrae) in having an adult color pattern consisting solely of a dark brown oblique predorsal bar. It is further distinguished from B. dayi, B. elongatus, B. macronotus and B. travancoria in having a shorter adipose-fin base (22.6-25.8 % standard length vs. 26.0-35.1) and longer caudal peduncle (18.2-21.1% standard length vs. 15.0-18.1), and from both B. dayi and B. elongatus in having a more convex dorsal snout profile.
The new species is named after its long caudal peduncle (Latin procerus = long).
For more information, see the paper: Ng, HH (2008) Batasio procerus, a new species of catfish from northern Myanmar (Siluriformes: Bagridae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters 19: 1"6.