A REVIEW OF THE CHINESE SILURIDAE

Chinese fishes of the family siluridae,includes 12 species which can be grouped into 3 genera,namely,Silurus L.,Kryptopterus Blkr.and Wallago Blkr.Onespecies—Silurus lanzhouensis,sp.nov.and one subspecies S.soldatovi meridionalis subsp. Nov. have 2 pair of barbels, the former inhabiting the Yellow River, and the latter lioing in the larger rivers of south China. By comparison of the cranial structure, especially the shape of the supra-ethmoid of most species of the genus Silurus, 3 gruups can be distinguished, each group includes both species with 2 pairs of barbels and species with 3 pairs.