hemibagrus

{{Short description|Genus of fishes}}

{{Italic title}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| name = Hemibagrus

| image = Mystu plani 080519 9414 ckoep.jpg

| image_caption = Hemibagrus planiceps

|fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Late Miocene|Recent}}

| taxon = Hemibagrus

| authority = Bleeker, 1862

| type_species = Bagrus nemurus

| type_species_authority = Valenciennes, 1840

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision =

• see text below

| synonyms =

• Macropterobagrus
  Nichols, 1925
• Brachymystus
  Fowler, 1937

}}

Hemibagrus is a genus of catfishes (order Siluriformes) of the family Bagridae.

The genus Hemibagrus is known from Southeast Asia, India, and southern China.{{cite journal|url=http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/43/43rbz133-142.pdf|title=Hemibagrus gracilis, a New Species of Large Riverine Catfish (Teleostei: Bagridae) from Peninsular Malaysia|first=Peter K. L.|last=Ng|author2=Ng, H. H.|journal=The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology|year=1995|volume=43|issue=1|pages=133–142|format=PDF|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070617223333/http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/43/43rbz133-142.pdf|archivedate=2007-06-17}} Members of this genus are found ubiquitously in river drainages east of the Ganges-Brahmaputra basin and south of the Yangtze basin, and reach their greatest diversity in Sundaland.

This genus consists of large-sized catfishes.{{cite journal|url=http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/47/47rbz045-057.pdf|title=Morphological and Genetic Descriptions of a New Species of Catfish, Hemibagrus chrysops, from Sarawak, East Malaysia, with an Assessment of Phylogenetic Relationships (Teleostei: Bagridae|journal=The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology|first=Heok Hee|last=Ng|author2=Dodson, Julian J.|year=1999|volume=47|issue=1|pages=45–57|format=PDF|access-date=2007-06-17|archive-date=2007-06-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070617172200/http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/47/47rbz045-057.pdf|url-status=dead}} H. wyckioides is the largest Bagrid catfish in central Indochina and may reach 80 kilograms. It includes species with depressed (flattened) heads, rugose (ridged or wrinkled) head shields not covered by skin, and moderately long adipose fins.

In Southeast Asia, Hemibagrus species are an important source of animal protein.{{cite journal|url=http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/47/47rbz555-576.pdf|title=The Bagrid Catfish Genus Hemibagrus (Teleostei: Siluriformes) in Central Indochina with a New Species from the Mekong River|first=Heok Hee|last=Ng|author2=Rainboth, Walter J.|journal=The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology|year=1999|volume=47|issue=2|pages=555–576|format=PDF|access-date=2007-06-17|archive-date=2007-06-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070617232427/http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/47/47rbz555-576.pdf|url-status=dead}}

The extinct species, H. major,{{cite journal |url=http://www.siamese-heritage.org/nhbsspdf/vol041-050/NHBSS_047_2h_Roberts_MioceneFishesFrom.pdf |first1=Tyler R. |last1=Roberts |first2=Junya |last2=Jumnongthai |title=Miocene fishes from Lake Phetchabun in north-central Thailand, with descriptions of new taxa of Cyprinidae, Pangasiidae, and Chandidae |journal=Natural History Bulletin Siam |volume=47 |pages=153–189 |year=1999 |format=PDF}}{{cite journal|url=http://silurus.acnatsci.org/ACSI/library/biblios/2007_Ferraris_Catfish_Checklist.pdf|title=Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types|first=Carl J. Jr.|last=Ferraris|journal=Zootaxa|volume=1418|pages=1–628|year=2007|format=PDF}} is a fossil species from a Miocene lake fauna from what is now Ban Nong Pia, Phetchabun Province of Thailand.