In 1993,
Pangasius was one of two extant genera (along with
Helicophagus) in the family
Pangasiidae. At this point, it was split into four subgenera.
Pangasius (
Pangasianodon) included
P. gigas and
P. hypophthalmus and was diagnosed by the absence of
mandibular barbels, the absence of teeth in adults and the presence of a single-lobed
swimbladder.
Pangasius (
Pteropangasius) included
P. micronema and
P. pleurotaenia and was typified by four lobes in the swimbladder and with multiple segments in the last lobe.
Pangasius (
Neopangasius) included
P. nieuwenhuisii,
P. humeralis,
P. lithostoma,
P. kinabatanganensis, and typically had
palatal teeth arranged in a single large patch and high
vertebral counts.
Pangasius (
Pangasius) was the final subgenus and had no unique features, including the remaining species. These subgeneric classifications were confirmed in 2000 except for
Neopangasius, found to be
polyphyletic and to be part of
Pangasius (
Pangasius), thus leaving three subgenera. In 2011,
Pangasius was sixth in the
National Fisheries Institute's "Top 10" list of the most consumed seafood in the United States. The Top 10 is based on tonnage of fish sold. According to the NFI, this mild-flavored white-fleshed fish is farmed in Asia, and is being used increasingly in food service. It is finding its way onto restaurant menus and into stores, as well, where one may see it called basa, tra, or swai. They are either called Panga, Pangas or Pangasius. In
Malaysia and
Indonesia,
Pangasius are called Ikan Patin, while Malaysian Chinese call
Pangasius 巴丁鱼. Some species like
Pangasius nasutus,
Pangasius djambal and
Pangasius sanitwongsei are expensive food fish in
Malaysia,
Pangasius sanitwongsei is also a common fish in aquarium trade and
sport fishing.
Species Currently, 23 recognized species are in this genus: •
Pangasius bocourti Sauvage, 1880 (basa fish) •
Pangasius conchophilus Roberts &
Vidthayanon, 1991 (snail eating pangasius) •
Pangasius djambal Bleeker, 1846 •
Pangasius elongatus Pouyaud,
Gustiano &
Teugels, 2002 (elongated pangasius) •
Pangasius humeralis Roberts, 1989 •
Pangasius icaria Ayyathurai, Kodeeswaran, Mohindra, Singh, Ravi, Kumar, Valaparambil, Thangappan, Jena & Lal, 2022 •
Pangasius kinabatanganensis Roberts & Vidthayanon, 1991 (kinabatang pangasius) •
Pangasius krempfi Fang & Chaux, 1949 •
Pangasius kunyit Pouyaud, Teugels &
Legendre, 1999 •
Pangasius larnaudii Bocourt, 1866 (spot pangasius) •
Pangasius lithostoma Roberts, 1989 •
Pangasius macronema Bleeker, 1851 •
Pangasius mahakamensis Pouyaud, Gustiano & Teugels, 2002 •
Pangasius mekongensis Gustiano, Teugels & Pouyaud, 2003 (Mekong pangasius) •
Pangasius myanmar Roberts & Vidthayanon, 1991 (Myanmar pangasius) •
Pangasius nasutus (
Bleeker, 1863) (long nosed pangasius) •
Pangasius nieuwenhuisii (
Popta, 1904) •
Pangasius pangasius (
Hamilton, 1822) (yellowtail catfish) •
Pangasius polyuranodon Bleeker, 1852 •
Pangasius rheophilus Pouyaud & Teugels, 2000 •
Pangasius sabahensis Gustiano, Teugels & Pouyaud, 2003 •
Pangasius sanitwongsei Smith, 1931 (giant pangasius) •
Pangasius silasi Dwivedi, Gupta, Singh, Mohindra, Chandra, Easawarn, Jena & Lal, 2017 ==Fossil record==