Bagarius bagarius

Bagarius bagarius, also known as the devil catfish, dwarf goonch or goonch (Bengali: বাঘাইর), is a species of catfish in the genus Bagarius. It is generally reported as being found in large and medium rivers in South and Southeast Asia, but considerable taxonomic confusion surrounds this species and B. yarrell.

Distribution: 

Bagarius species inhabit south and southeast Asia. They are distributed in the Indus drainage in Pakistan and India, east (including peninsular India) to the Red Riverdrainage in Vietnam and south throughout Indochina including the Malay Peninsula and Indonesia. B. bagarius is known from the Ganges River, Chao Phraya, and theMekong drainages, as well as the Malay Peninsula and the Salween and Mae Klong drainages and the Brahmaputra River and Ayeyarwady River. B. suchus originates from the Mekong and Chao Phraya basins. B. rutilus inhabits the Red River and Ma River in northern Vietnam. B. yarelli is widely distributed in southern and southeastern Asia.

Fig. Bagarius bagarius

Ecology:

B. bagarius inhabits rapid and rocky pools of large and medium-sized rivers. B. suchus is usually associated with rapids in the large rivers it inhabits. B. yarelli occurs in large rivers on the bottom, even with swift current, never entering small streams. It is found among boulders, often in the white water of the rapids where it apparently is indifferent to the strong current.

B. bagarius is primarily entomophagous. It also feeds on small fishes, frogs and shrimps.B. suchus, however, is a piscivore. B. yarelli feeds primarily on prawns but also eat small fishes and aquatic insects