Do Not Mess With Fish 15

Humans scoffed by mutant fish,

and you thought fish were fun!

A FEARSOME mutant fish has started killing people after feeding on human corpses, scientists fear. They reckon that a huge type of catfish, called a goonch, may have developed a taste for flesh in an Indian river where bodies are dumped after funerals. Locals have believed for years that a mysterious monster lurks in the water. But they think it has moved on from scavenging to snatching unwary bathers who venture into the Great Kali, which flows along the India-Nepal border. The extraordinary creature has been investigated by biologist Jeremy Wade for a TV documentary to be shown on Five. He said: “The locals have told me of a theory that this monster has grown extra large on a diet of partially burnt corpses. It has perhaps got this taste for flesh by feasting on remains of funeral pyres. There will be a few freak individuals that grow bigger than the other ones and if you throw in extra food, they will grow even bigger.” Jeremy discounted theories that crocodiles could be responsible for the carnage before turning his attention to goonches – among the world’s biggest freshwater fish. He caught one which tipped the scales at 161lb and was nearly 6ft long – a world record weight and far bigger than any landed before. He said: “If that got hold of you, there’d be no getting away. An 18-year-old Nepali disappeared in the river last year, dragged down by something described as like an “elongated pig”. But the first victim of a goonch attack was thought to have been a 17-year-old Nepalese boy. He was killed in April 1988 as he cooled himself in the river. Witnesses said he was suddenly pulled below the surface. Three months later a young boy was dragged underwater as his father watched helplessly.

Now for my bit, it is a Bagarius bagarius or a Glyptothorax, I think coheni it is a large growing Indian catfish, below is a picture of it's holotype, USNM 205612, although small this was the first Glyptothorax coheni described,

do they eat people? I some how doubt it unless the body was in an advanced state of decomposition, remember it is a catfish, the teeth that it has are called Pharyngeal teeth, they are situated at the back of the fishes throat, they can grind food but not cut it, also some species of fish can use these teeth to produce a audible grinding sound, the lips of the fish have small file like teeth to rasp at algae but again lack the ability to cut flesh.

Or it could be Bagarius bagarius

Bagarius bagarius is commonly known as the Devil Catfish, which is also referred to as Bagarius yarellii. This catfish is quite a rare find amongst shipments of fish from Asia. Bagarius bagarius belongs to the family Sisoridae which are more commonly referred to as Asian Hillstream Catfishes. Within this group of catfish there are around 23 genera and 85 species. As their family name suggests they are naturally found in the fast flowing freshwaters of southern Asia. Most of the catfish within the family Sisoridae are small to medium in size from 6-30cm, with the exception of Bagarius with representative species growing in excess of 2 metres! The difference with this fish is that as they grow larger the rasping teeth become significantly larger, though still not able to cut through flesh.

Distribution: Asia: Ganges, Mekong and Chao Phraya basins. Reported from Salween, Maeklong and Peninsular Thailand. Morphology: Dorsal spines (total): 1 - 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 6 - 6; Anal soft rays: 13 – 14; Vertebrae: 38 – 42. Pelvic-fin origin in front of the base of the last dorsal ray; adipose-fin origin behind the anal-fin origin. Elongate neural spines 4-8, distally expanded abdominal vertebrae 17-20. Absence of sharp ridge on top of head; absence of bumps on dorsal mid-line behind dorsal fin base. Mouth large, inferior and arciform. Biology: Inhabits rapid and rocky pools of large and medium-sized rivers. Feeds on insects, small fishes, frogs and shrimps. Breeds in rivers prior to the beginning of the annual flood season. Marketed fresh. Important as a food fish, but the meat spoils rapidly and can cause illness. Reported length of 200 cm.