HomeFish encyclopediaRay-finned fishesCatfishSisorid catfishesCrocodile catfish Crocodile catfish (Bagarius suchus) Scientific name: Bagarius suchus Roberts, 1983 The Crocodile catfish (Bagarius suchus) is a freshwater fish of the family Sisoridae. Native range: Asia, Mekong and Chao Phraya basins. BiologyVertebrae: 40 - 42. Rugose dorsal surface of bony cranium and predorsal plate exposed (not covered by skin); a median sharp ridge on supraoccipital crest and paired sharp longitudinal ridges on predorsal |plate; skin on sides of head and on body with closely set beadlike or granular protuberances (resembling those of gecko skin) of similar size; body depth 7.9-9.3 (mean 8.5); a darkly pigmented spot or blotch on side of body midway between darkly pigmented bands associated with bases of dorsal and adipose fins. The skin above the neural spines anterior and posterior to the adipose fin always forms large ridges or humps (seven to nine in front of the adipose fin, three to five behind it), much more prominent and more numerous than the relatively weak humps or ridges sometimes formed over the neural spines in B. bagarius and rarely present and even more weakly developed in B. yarrelli. In B. suchus the adipose fin origin tends to lie even further posterior than in B. bagarius (and therSource: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0. Species factsScientific nameBagarius suchusFamilySisoridae (Sisorid catfishes)OrderSiluriformes (Catfish)ClassActinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)Maximum length70.0EnvironmentFreshwater; demersal; potamodromousClimateTropicalDistributionAsia: Mekong and Chao Phraya basins.Conservation status (IUCN)Not EvaluatedThreat to humansHarmlessUsesFisheries: minor commercial SourcesTaxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.Last updated 27 September 2026