Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Siluriformes (Catfishes) >
Siluridae (Sheatfishes)
Etymology: Ompok: It is a bad reproduction of a Malayam fish name as limpok/ompok (Ref. 45335); argestes: The specific name argestes is a Homeric (Greek) term which means southwest, a reference to the region of Sri Lanka in which the species occurs.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal. Tropical
Asia: Sri Lanka.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 14.7 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 116164)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal soft rays (total): 4; Anal soft rays: 56 - 63; Vertebrae: 48 - 52. Ompok argestes differs from its Indian and Sri Lankan congeners by the combination of
the following characters: body color pattern mottled; predorsal profile uniformly convex; maxillary barbels reach or extend slightly beyond the base of the dorsal fin; eye diameter 14.2-17.1% head length; body depth at anus 19.8-22.3% standard length (SL); head width 14.3-16.8% SL; caudal peduncle depth 5.6-6.5% SL; and vertebrae 48-52 (Ref. 116164).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated.
Found among submerged roots and marginal vegetation in slow-flowing, shaded regions of rivers and streams with a substratum of mud or leaf debris (Ref. 116164).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Sudasinghe, H. and M. Meegaskumbura, 2016. Ompok argeste, a new species of silurid catfish endemic to Sri Lanka (Teleostei: Siluridae). Zootaxa 4158(2):261-271. (Ref. 116164)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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