Sisoridae, Bleeker, 1858

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 601-605

Family Sisoridae

Torrent catfishes

The family comprises approximately 17 genera and 220 species of rheophilic catfishes, with the greatest diversity observed in South and Southeast Asia. One species, Bagarius bagarius , reaches up to 1400 mm SL, while most species are small. Most are highly adapted to live in rapids and very fast-flowing waters, with some ( Oreoglanis ) inhabiting the vertical part of waterfalls. Some species are found in high-altitude streams in the Himalayas, while the greatest diversity of species is observed in rapids of tropical rivers. In West Asia, only Glyptothorax is found, which is the most speciose genus of the family. Glyptothorax is immediately identified by a thoracic adhesive organ on the breast between the pectorals. The adhesive organ is sometimes referred to as a “sucker,” which does not suck to the substrate, but instead adheres with small unculi on elevated skin folds, a structure similar to the feet of gecko lizards. Glyptothorax are adapted to live in fast-flowing waters and are commonly found in foothill rivers and mountain streams.

In our region, 13 species are recognised, but six species from Iran are closely related, and their status is under discussion. Two of these ( G. alidaeii and G. galaxias ) occur in sympatry and are good biological species. Other species may be conspecific with G. silviae , but not all morphological differences have been studied in detail. Three widespread species inhabit large- or medium-sized rivers, while others are restricted to fast-flowing headwater streams with more restricted distribution ranges. A single record of Glyptothorax from the Yeşilırmak in the Anatolian Black Sea basin has been identified, although the integrity of this record cannot be confirmed. Further reading. Hora & Silas 1952 (diversity); Sayyadzadeh et al. 2022 (diversity in Gulf basin).

Large, fast-flowing rivers such as the Greater Zab in Iraq are the habitat of a rich fish fauna, including Glyptothorax , Mystus , and Silurus .

Open Access. © 2025 JÖrg Freyhof, Baran Yoğurtçuoğlu, Arash Jouladeh-Roudbar and Cüneyt Kaya, published by De Gruyter. the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111677811-028

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Glyptothorax galaxias ; Bazoft, Iran.

Glyptothorax alidaeii ; Seimareh, Karkheh drainage, Iran; ~ 110 mm SL.