Clarias microspilus, a new walking catfish (Teleostei: Clariidae) from northern Sumatra, Indonesia

Abstract

Clarias microspilus, a new species of walking catfish is described from the short coastal rivers draining the western face of the Leuser Mountain Range and debouching into the Indian Ocean in Nangroe Aceh Darussalam province, northern Sumatra, Indonesia. It can be distinguished from Southeast Asian congeners in having a combination of the following characters: distance between the tip of the occipital process and the base of the first dorsal-fin ray 6.5[long dash]9.2 % SL; body depth at anus 14.9[long dash]18.9 % SL; head width 18.6[long dash]21.7 % SL; head depth 12.9[long dash]16.0 % SL; interorbital distance 40.5[long dash]44.5 % HL; occipital process width 31.7[long dash]40.8% HL; 64[long dash]68 dorsal-fin rays; 51[long dash]56 anal-fin rays; anterior tip of frontal fontanel reaching line through middle of orbit; anterior margin of pectoral spine with 22[long dash]34 serrations and posterodorsal margin smooth.