Gagata is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of catfish

Catfish

Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...

es (order

Order (biology)

In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...

 Siluriformes) of the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Sisoridae

Sisoridae

Sisoridae is a family of catfishes . These Asian catfish live in fast-moving waters and often have adaptations that allow them to adhere to objects in their habitat.-Taxonomy:...

. It includes seven species, G. cenia, G. dolichonema, G. gagata, G. itchkeea, G. melanopterus, G. pakistanica, and G. sexualis. G. gasawyuh is considered a synonym

Synonym (taxonomy)

In scientific nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that is or was used for a taxon of organisms that also goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies...

 of G. gagata and G. youssoufi of G. sexualis.

Distribution

Gagata species are distributed in the Indus

Indus River

The Indus River is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It also has courses through China and India.Originating in the Tibetan plateau of western China in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region, the river runs a course through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and...

 drainage in Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

 and India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, east and south (including peninsular India) to the Tenasserim drainages in Burma. G. cenia originates from the Indus, Mahanadi

Mahanadi River

The Mahanadi in East Central India. It drains an area of around 141,600 km2 and has a total course of 858 km. The river flows through the states of Chhattisgarh and Orissa.-Source:...

, Ganges

Ganges River

The Ganges or Ganga, , is a trans-boundary river of India and Bangladesh. The river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. By discharge it...

, and Brahmaputra

Brahmaputra River

The Brahmaputra , also called Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, is a trans-boundary river and one of the major rivers of Asia. It is the only Indian river that is attributed the masculine gender and thus referred to as a in Indo-Aryan languages and languages with Indo-Aryan influence...

 drainages in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Burma and possibly Nepal

Nepal

Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

; it is also reported from the Irrawaddy

Ayeyarwady River

The Irrawaddy River or Ayeyarwady River is a river that flows from north to south through Burma . It is the country's largest river and most important commercial waterway. Originating from the confluence of the N'mai and Mali rivers, it flows relatively straight North-South before emptying through...

 drainage and Salween

Salween River

The Salween is a river, about long, that flows from the Tibetan Plateau into the Andaman Sea in Southeast Asia. It drains a narrow and mountainous watershed of that extends into the countries China, Burma and Thailand. Steep canyon walls line the swift, powerful and undammed Salween, one of the...

 drainage. G. dolichonema inhabits the upper Salween River basin in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 and the Irrawaddy, Salween, and Tenasserim River basins in Burma. G. gagata is from the Ganges drainage in India and Bangladesh and is reported from the Brahmaputra and Irrawaddy drainages. G. itchkeea is known from the Narmada

Narmada River

The Narmada , also called Rewa is a river in central India and the fifth largest river in the Indian subcontinent. It is the third largest river that completely flows within India after Ganges and Godavari...

, Krishna

Krishna River

The Krishna River , is one of the longest rivers in central-southern India, about . It is also referred to as Krishnaveni in its original nomenclature...

, and Cauvery drainages in peninsular India, though its presence in the Cauvery needs to be confirmed. G. melanoptera is distributed in the Irrawaddy, Rangoon, Sittang

Sittang River

The Sittaung is a river in south central Myanmar in Bago Division. The Pegu Range separates its basin from that of the Irrawaddy. The river originates at the edge of the Shan Plateau southeast of Mandalay, and flows southward to the Gulf of Martaban...

, and lower Salween drainages in Burma. G. pakistanica is from the Indus drainage in Pakistan. G. sexualis originates from the Ganges and Brahmaputra drainages in India, Bangladesh and Nepal.

Description

Gagata species have a compressed head, eyes on side of the head, a depressed snout, small conical teeth in lower jaw, branchiostegal membranes

Ichthyology terms

Ichthyology uses several terms that are unique to the science.Contents: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z- A :* Abdomen: belly* Abdominal: pertaining to the belly* Actinosts: a series of bones at the base of the pectoral rays....

 broadly fused to isthmus

Ichthyology terms

Ichthyology uses several terms that are unique to the science.Contents: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z- A :* Abdomen: belly* Abdominal: pertaining to the belly* Actinosts: a series of bones at the base of the pectoral rays....

, no serrations on anterior margin of pectoral spine but serrate posteriorly, no well-developed maxillary barbel

Barbel (anatomy)

A barbel on a fish is a slender, whiskerlike tactile organ near the mouth. Fish that have barbels include the catfish, the carp, the goatfish, sturgeon, the zebrafish and some species of shark...

 membrane, outer and inner mental barbels close together with their origins nearly parallel in a transverse line, short nasal and maxillary barbels, and a lack of palatal teeth.

Gagata species have a great range in lengths, from 5.8 centimetres (2.3 in) TL

Fish measurement

Fish measurement refers to the measuring of the length of individual fish and of various parts of their anatomy. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology.-Overall length:...

 in G. sexualis and 7.6 cm (3.0 in) TL in G. itchkeea, to 15.0 cm (5.9 in) SL

Fish measurement

Fish measurement refers to the measuring of the length of individual fish and of various parts of their anatomy. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology.-Overall length:...

in G. cenia and 15.8 cm (6.2 in) SL in G. melanoptera, to 30.5 cm (12.0 in) TL in G. gagata.