These small- to medium-sized catfishes have opaque, transparent or translucent bodies, hence their common name Asian glass catfishes. Despite this name, only three described species have clearly transparent bodies: K. minor, K. piperatus and K. vitreolus.[2] Most significant among these is the ghost catfish (K. vitreolus), which is the "glass catfish" most often seen in the aquarium fish trade. This species was initially confused with the larger glass catfish (K. bicirrhis; infrequent in aquarium trade) and subsequently with K. minor (essentially absent from aquarium trade). This matter was only fully resolved in 2013.[2][3]
Species
While 18 species have been described as of 2013, the genus Kryptopterus is notoriously rich in cryptic species. A number of these have been recognized in recent years, and more are likely to follow:[4][5]
^ abNg, H-H. and M. Kottelat (2013). After eighty years of misidentification, a name for the glass catfish (Teleostei: Siluridae) Zootaxa 3630: 308–316.
^ abNg, H.H. & Kottelat, M. (2013): After eighty years of misidentification, a name for the glass catfish (Teleostei: Siluridae). Zootaxa, 3630 (2): 308–316., doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3630.2.6
