Glyptothorax is a genus of catfishes order Siluriformes of the family Sisoridae. It is the most species-rich and widely distributed genus in the family with new species being discovered on a regular basis. These species are distributed in the Black Sea basin, northern Turkey, south and east to the Yangtze River drainage in China and south throughout Indo-China to Java, Indonesia. They are found in Asia Minor (in the Tigris and Euphrates River drainages) and southwards to Southeast Asia. The genus is very diverse in the Indian subcontinent. Southeast Asian species tend to have restricted distributions.
Description
This genus is easily distinguished from other sisorids by having an adhesive apparatus on the thorax with grooves parallel or oblique to the longitudinal axis of the body, as opposed to grooves transverse to the longitudinal axis of body or the thoracic adhesive apparatus entirely absent. The dorsal fin and pectoral fins have strong spines. The dorsal fin spine is smooth or serrate on the front edge and smooth or finely serrated on the posterior edge. The pectoral fin spine is serrated on the front edge. The head is small and depressed and the snout is conical. The body is elongate, from moderately to greatly depressed. The skin is either smooth or tuberculate. The eyes are small and dorsally placed. The lips are thick, fleshy and often papillate. The maxillary barbels have a well-developed membrane and a soft base. The gill openings are wide. The paired fins are plaited and modified to form an adhesive apparatus in some species of Glyptothorax.
Ecology
Like other sisorids, these fish are rheophilic, that is they inhabit fast-flowing streams, where they are adapted to live by using the adhesive apparatus on the underside to attach themselves to rocks and prevent being washed away.
Species
These are the currently recognized species in this genus:
- Glyptothorax alaknandi <small>Tilak, 1969</small>
- Glyptothorax amnestus <small>Ng & Kottelat, 2016</small>
- Glyptothorax anamalaiensis <small>Silas, 1952</small>
- Glyptothorax annandalei <small>Hora, 1923</small>
- Glyptothorax armeniacus <small>(L. S. Berg, 1918)</small> (Armenian mountain catfish)
- Glyptothorax ater <small>Anganthoibi & Vishwanath, 2011</small>
- Glyptothorax bhurainu <small>Vijayakrishnan & Shinde, 2025</small>
- Glyptothorax botius <small>(F. Hamilton, 1822)</small>
- Glyptothorax brevipinnis <small>Hora, 1923</small>
- Glyptothorax buchanani <small>H. M. Smith, 1945</small>
- Glyptothorax burmanicus <small>Prashad & Mukerji, 1929</small>
- Glyptothorax callopterus <small>H. M. Smith, 1945</small>
- Glyptothorax caudimaculatus <small>Anganthoibi & Vishwanath, 2011</small>
- Glyptothorax cavia <small>(F. Hamilton, 1822)</small>
- Glyptothorax chakpiensis <small>Shangningam & Kosygin, 2025</small>
- Glyptothorax chimtuipuiensis <small>Anganthoibi & Vishwanath, 2010</small>
- Glyptothorax churamanii <small>Rameshori & Vishwanath, 2012</small>
- Glyptothorax clavatus <small>Rameshori & Vishwanath, 2014</small>
- Glyptothorax conirostris <small>(Steindachner, 1867)</small>
- Glyptothorax coracinus <small>H. H. Ng & Rainboth, 2008</small>
- Glyptothorax cous <small>(Linnaeus, 1766)</small>
- Glyptothorax daemon <small>Freyhof, Kaya, Abdullah & Geiger, 2021</small>
- Glyptothorax dakpathari <small>Tilak & Husain, 1976</small>
- Glyptothorax davissinghi <small>Manimekalan & H. S. Das, 1998</small>
- Glyptothorax decussatus <small>H. H. Ng & Kottelat, 2016</small>
- Glyptothorax deqinensis <small>T. P. Mo & X. L. Chu, 1986</small>
- Glyptothorax dikrongensis <small>Tamang & Chaudhry, 2011</small>
- Glyptothorax distichus <small>Kosygin, Singh & Gurumayum, 2020</small>
- Glyptothorax dorsalis <small>Vinciguerra, 1890</small>
- Glyptothorax elankadensis <small>Plamoottil & Abraham, 2013</small> (Travancore rock catfish)
- Glyptothorax exodon <small>H. H. Ng & Rachmatika, 2005</small>
- Glyptothorax famelicus <small>Ng & Kottelat, 2016</small>
- Glyptothorax filicatus <small>H. H. Ng & Freyhof, 2008</small>
- Glyptothorax forabilis <small>H. H. Ng & Kottelat, 2017</small>
- Glyptothorax fucatus <small>W. S. Jiang, H. H. Ng, J. X. Yang & X. Y. Chen, 2012</small>
- Glyptothorax fuscus <small>Fowler, 1934</small>
- Glyptothorax garhwali <small>Tilak, 1969</small>
- Glyptothorax giudikyensis <small>Kosygin, Singh & Gurumayum, 2020</small>
- Glyptothorax gopii <small>Kosygin, Das, Singh & Chowdhury, 2019</small>
- Glyptothorax gracilis <small>(Günther, 1864)</small>
- Glyptothorax granosus <small>W. S. Jiang, H. H. Ng, J. X. Yang & X. Y. Chen, 2012</small>
- Glyptothorax granulus <small>Vishwanath & Linthoingambi, 2007</small>
- Glyptothorax hainanensis <small>(Nichols & C. H. Pope, 1927)</small>
- Glyptothorax heokheei <small>Singh, Chowdhury, Gurumayum & Kosygin, 2023</small>
- Glyptothorax himalaicus <small>Vijayakrishnan & Shinde, 2025</small>
- Glyptothorax honghensis <small>S. S. Li, 1984</small>
- Glyptothorax horai <small>(Fowler, 1934)</small>
- Glyptothorax housei <small>Herre, 1942</small>
- Glyptothorax hymavatiae <small>Tenali, Adak, Chandran, Singh, Sarkar & Banerjee, 2025</small>
- Glyptothorax igniculus <small>H. H. Ng & S. O. Kullander, 2013</small>
- Glyptothorax indicus <small>Talwar, 1991</small>
- Glyptothorax interspinalum <small>(ÃÂ. Y. Mai, 1978)</small>
- Glyptothorax irroratus <small>Ng & Kottelat, 2023</small>
- Glyptothorax jalalensis <small>Balon () & K. Hensel, 1970</small>
- Glyptothorax jayarami <small>Rameshori & Vishwanath, 2012</small>
- Glyptothorax kailashi <small>Kosygin, Singh & Mitra, 2020</small>
- Glyptothorax kashmirensis <small>Hora, 1923</small>
- Glyptothorax keluk <small>H. H. Ng & Kottelat, 2016</small>
- Glyptothorax ketambe <small>H. H. Ng & Hadiaty, 2009</small>
- Glyptothorax kudremukhensis <small>K. C. Gopi, 2007</small>
- Glyptothorax kurdistanicus <small>(L. S. Berg, 1931)</small>
- Glyptothorax lairamkhullensis <small>Devi, Linthoingambi & Singh, 2023</small>
- Glyptothorax lampris <small>Fowler, 1934</small>
- Glyptothorax lanceatus <small>H. H. Ng, W. S. Jiang & X. Y. Chen, 2012</small>
- Glyptothorax laosensis <small>Fowler, 1934</small>
- Glyptothorax lonah <small>(Sykes, 1839)</small>
- Glyptothorax longicauda <small>S. S. Li, 1984</small>
- Glyptothorax longinema <small>S. S. Li, 1984</small>
- Glyptothorax longjiangensis <small>T. P. Mo & X. L. Chu, 1986</small>
- Glyptothorax maceriatus <small>H. H. Ng & Lalramliana, 2012</small>
- Glyptothorax macromaculatus <small>S. S. Li, 1984</small>
- Glyptothorax madraspatanus <small>(F. Day, 1873)</small>
- Glyptothorax major <small>(Boulenger, 1894)</small>
- Glyptothorax malabarensis <small>K. C. Gopi, 2010</small>
- Glyptothorax manipurensis <small>Menon, 1955</small>
- Glyptothorax medogensis <small>Chen & He, 2024</small>
- Glyptothorax mibangi <small>Darshan, Dutta, Kachari, Gogoi & D. N. Das, 2015</small>
- Glyptothorax minimaculatus <small>S. S. Li, 1984</small>
- Glyptothorax motbungensis <small>Premananda & Singh, 2023</small>
- Glyptothorax nelsoni <small>Ganguly, N. C. Datta & S. Sen, 1972</small>
- Glyptothorax ngapang <small>Vishwanath & Linthoingambi, 2007</small>
- Glyptothorax nieuwenhuisi <small>(Vaillant, 1902)</small>
- Glyptothorax obliquimaculatus <small>W. S. Jiang, X. Y. Chen & J. X. Yang, 2010</small>
- Glyptothorax palakkadiensis <small>Singh & Kosygin, 2025</small>
- Glyptothorax pallens <small>Mousavi-Sabet, Eagderi, Vatandoust & Freyhof, 2021</small>
- Glyptothorax pallozonus <small>(S. Y. Lin, 1934)</small>
- Glyptothorax panda <small>Ferraris & Britz, 2005</small>
- Glyptothorax pantherinus <small>Anganthoibi & Vishwanath, 2013</small>
- Glyptothorax pasighatensis <small>Arunkumar, 2016</small>
- Glyptothorax pectinopterus <small>(McClelland, 1842)</small> (River catfish)
- Glyptothorax pedunculatus <small>Roberts, 2021</small>
- Glyptothorax pictus <small>H. H. Ng & Kottelat, 2016</small>
- Glyptothorax platypogon <small>Valenciennes, 1840</small>
- Glyptothorax platypogonides <small>(Bleeker, 1855)</small>
- Glyptothorax plectilis <small>H. H. Ng & Hadiaty, 2008</small>
- Glyptothorax pongoensis <small>Tenali, Singh, Pratap, Phom, Ratnaraju & Kosygin, 2024</small>
- Glyptothorax poonaensis <small>Hora, 1938</small>
- Glyptothorax porrectus <small>H. H. Ng & Kottelat, 2017</small>
- Glyptothorax prashadi <small>Mukerji, 1932</small>
- Glyptothorax primusplicae <small>Shangningam & Kosygin, 2023</small>
- Glyptothorax prionotos <small>Ng & Kottelat, 2023</small>
- Glyptothorax punjabensis <small>Mirza & Kashmiri, 1971</small>
- Glyptothorax punyabratai <small>Tenali, Sarkar, Chandran & Singh, 2024</small>
- Glyptothorax quadriocellatus <small>(ÃÂ. Y. Mai, 1978)</small>
- Glyptothorax radiolus <small>H. H. Ng & Lalramliana, 2013</small>
- Glyptothorax rara <small>Chen & He, 2024</small>
- Glyptothorax robustus <small>(Boeseman, 1966)</small>
- Glyptothorax rugimentum <small>H. H. Ng & Kottelat, 2008</small>
- Glyptothorax rupiri <small>(L. Kosygin, P. Singh & S. Rath, 2021)</small>
- Glyptothorax saisii <small>(J. T. Jenkins, 1910)</small>
- Glyptothorax sardashtensis <small>Jokar, Kamangar, Ghaderi & Freyhof 2023</small>
- Glyptothorax schmidti <small>(Volz, 1904)</small>
- Glyptothorax scrobiculus <small>H. H. Ng & Lalramliana, 2012</small>
- Glyptothorax senapatiensis <small>Premananda, Kosygin & Saidullah, 2015</small>
- Glyptothorax siangensis <small>Singh, Kosygin, Rath & Gurumayum, 2024</small>
- Glyptothorax silviae <small>Coad, 1981</small>
- Glyptothorax sinensis <small>(Regan, 1908)</small>
- Glyptothorax steindachneri <small>(Pietschmann, 1913)</small> (SteindachnerâÂÂs catfish)
- Glyptothorax stibaros <small>H. H. Ng & Kottelat, 2016</small>
- Glyptothorax stocki <small>Mirza & Nijssen, 1978</small>
- Glyptothorax stolickae <small>(Steindachner, 1867)</small>
- Glyptothorax strabonis <small>H. H. Ng & Freyhof, 2008</small>
- Glyptothorax striatus <small>(McClelland, 1842)</small>
- Glyptothorax sufii <small>K. Asghar Bashir & Mirza, 1975</small>
- Glyptothorax sykesi <small>(F. Day, 1873)</small>
- Glyptothorax telchitta <small>(Hamilton, 1822)</small>
- Glyptothorax trewavasae <small>Hora, 1938</small>
- Glyptothorax trilineatus <small>Blyth, 1860</small> (Three-lined catfish)
- Glyptothorax vatandousti <small>Jouladeh-Roudbar, Ghanavi & Freyhof, 2023</small>
- Glyptothorax ventrolineatus <small>Vishwanath & Linthoingambi, 2006</small>
- Glyptothorax verrucosus <small>Rameshori & Vishwanath, 2012</small>
- Glyptothorax viridis <small>Shangningam & Kosygin, 2023</small>
- Glyptothorax waikhomi <small>Shangningam & Kosygin, 2022</small>
- Glyptothorax yuensis <small>Shangningam & Kosygin, 2022</small>
- Glyptothorax zanaensis <small>X. W. Wu, M. J. He & X. L. Chu, 1981</small>
- Glyptothorax zeiladensis <small>Shangningam, Kosygin & Gurumayum, 2024</small>
- Glyptothorax zhujiangensis <small>Y. H. Lin, 2003</small>
Synonyms
- Glyptothorax alidaeii <small>Mousavi-Sabet, Eagderi, Vatandoust & Freyhof, 2021</small>; valid as Glyptothorax silviae
- Glyptothorax chavomensis <small>Arunkumar & Moyon, 2017</small>; valid as Glyptothorax ngapang
- Glyptothorax chindwinica <small>Vishwanath & Linthoingambi, 2007</small>; valid as Glyptothorax burmanicus
- Glyptothorax coheni <small>Ganguly, Datta & Sen, 1972</small>; valid as Glyptothorax saisii
- Glyptothorax fokiensis <small>(Rendahl (), 1925)</small>; valid as Glyptothorax sinensis
- Glyptothorax galaxias <small>Mousavi-Sabet, Eagderi, Vatandoust & Freyhof, 2021</small>; valid as Glyptothorax silviae
- Glyptothorax hosseinpanahii <small>Mousavi-Sabet, Eagderi, Vatandoust & Freyhof, 2021</small>; valid as Glyptothorax silviae
- Glyptothorax laak <small>(Popta, 1904)</small>; valid as Glyptothorax nieuwenhuisi
- Glyptothorax merus <small>Li, 1984</small>; valid as Glyptothorax interspinalum
- Glyptothorax minutus <small>Hora, 1921</small>; valid as Glyptothorax dorsalis
- Glyptothorax naziri <small>Mirza & I. U. Naik, 1969</small>; valid as Glyptothorax kashmirensis
- Glyptothorax obscurus <small>S. S. Li, 1984)</small>; valid as Glyptothorax quadriocellatus
- Glyptothorax rubermentus <small>Li, 1984</small>; valid as Glyptothorax longinema
- Glyptothorax shapuri <small>Mousavi-Sabet, Eagderi, Vatandoust, & Freyhof 2021</small>; valid as Glyptothorax silviae
- Glyptothorax siamensis <small>Hora, 1923</small>; valid as Glyptothorax schmidti
- Glyptothorax spectrum <small>Kottelat, 2001</small>; valid as Glyptothorax quadriocellatus
- Glyptothorax trilineatoides <small>Li, 1984</small>; valid as Glyptothorax trilineatus
References