Teleostei (teleosts) >
Siluriformes (Catfishes) >
Siluridae (Sheatfishes)
Etymology: Wallago: wallago;Bleeker, in 1851, took the Indian fish name, gave it generic range and used it connection with a new species. The name is "walaga" in Telugu / Tamil (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Lieutenant-Colonel J M van Leer was a Dutch army physician who was a colleague of Bleeker’s. He was for a time the Directing Surgeon at Samarang, East Sumatra. He provided the holotypes of these species. (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Bleeker.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal; potamodromous (Ref. 51243). Tropical; 10°N - 8°S
Asia: Thailand to Indonesia. Reports of this species from the Mekong River basin are misidentifications of Wallgo micropogon (Ref. 51260).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 150 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7050); max. published weight: 86.0 kg (Ref. 2091)
Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 4; Anal soft rays: 60 - 75. Differs from all other congeners by having a jet black pectoral-fin membranes. Branchiostegal rays 15-18 (Ref. 2091). Corner of mouth reaching only to anterior margin of eye (Ref. 7050).
Adults inhabit large streams and rivers (Ref. 12455). Fry occur at the mouth of small streams connected to larger rivers, where the bottom is muddy and with overhanging vegetation (Ref. 56749). Feeds on prawns (Ref. 56749). Oviparous, distinct pairing possibly like other members of the same family (Ref. 205). Fishermen along Kapuas in Indonesia observed that it used to form large migratory schools in Kapuas mainstream but such schools had become less noticeable, and this was attributed to intensive gill netting. Usually consumed fresh or processed as salted fish (Ref. 56749). Reaches more than 150 cm TL (Ref. 7050).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Roberts, T.R., 1989. The freshwater fishes of Western Borneo (Kalimantan Barat, Indonesia). Mem. Calif. Acad. Sci. 14:210 p. (Ref. 2091)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5312 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00562 (0.00279 - 0.01132), b=3.00 (2.83 - 3.17), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.5 ±0.80 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Assuming Fec > 10,000).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Very high vulnerability (90 of 100).
