Fishes of Afghanistan; a revised and updated annotated checklist Author Çiçek, Erdoğan Author Fricke, Ronald 0000-0003-1476-6990 Author Eagderi, Soheil 0000-0002-1134-0356 Author Sungur, Sevil 0000-0003-4018-6375 Author Coad, Brian W 0000-0002-7232-961X Author Hamdard, Mohammad Hamid 0000-0002-5915-6574 erdogancicek@nevsehir.edu.tr text Zootaxa 2023 2023-06-16 5305 1 1 69 http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5305.1.1 journal article 56221 10.11646/zootaxa.5305.1.1 c640363c-14f9-4912-8a38-2948ab4946f1 1175-5326 8048564 55EB7903-BB1A-45F9-9660-16DAF957C67A Wallago attu ( Bloch & Schneider, 1801 ) [N]—Pabdah catfish Taxonomy. Original description: Silurus attu Bloch & Schneider, 1801: 378 , pl. 75 [Malabar, India ; holotype : ZMB 8783 (dry, lost)].— Afghanistan synonyms: Silurus boalis Hamilton, 1822 ; Silurodon hexanema Kner, 1866 ; Wallago hexanema (Kner, 1866) ; Silurus (Callichrus) macrostomus Swainson, 1839 ; Silurus muelleri Bleeker, 1846 ; Wallago russellii Bleeker, 1853 ; Wallago attu valeya Deraniyagala, 1953 ; Silurus wallagoo Valenciennes, 1840 .—Revisions: Jayaram (2006: 112) .—Illustration: Kottelat (2001 : fig. 357). Status in Afghanistan . First listed by Coad (1981: 15 ; 2014: 294 ; 2015: 229); confirmed by ( Mirza 2003 ; Hossain et al. 2008 ).—Afghanistan materials: None. Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Afghanistan : Kabul River.—General distribution: South Asia and Southeast Asia: Afghanistan , Pakistan , India , Sri Lanka , Nepal , Bangladesh , Myanmar , Yunnan / China , Thailand , Indonesia and East Indies.—Habitat: This species inhabits freshwater and tidal waters in a variety of habitats, including large rivers, lakes, tanks, channels, and reservoirs. It is one of the largest, most voracious, and most predatory of the local catfish, which thrives well in rivers and tanks, especially in jheels with grassy margins. It mostly hides under holes in riverbanks and canals, and it prefers muddy tanks subject to periodic flooding from a nullah or river. It is rather sluggish and stays at the bottom of water in search of food. Freshwater. Economic importance. Commercially important. Conservation. Conservation status in Afghanistan : Unknown.—IUCN: VU ( Ng et al. 2019 ).—Threats: CLI, CON, FIT, TOU, EUT.—High sensitivity to human activities.—Keystone species.—Decline status: Decreasing.— Moderate priority for conservation action.