The Amblycipitidae are a family of catfishes, commonly known as torrent catfishes. It includes four genera, Amblyceps, Liobagrus, Proliobagrus and Xiurenbagrus, and about 50 species.
Taxonomy
The family Amblycipitidae is a monophyletic group containing four monophyletic genera, Amblyceps, Liobagrus, Nahangbagrus and Xiurenbagrus. It is the most basal sisoroid family and is sister to a clade formed by the remaining families. Amblyceps are mainly distributed in India and the Malay Peninsula. Liobagrus fishes are distributed in the Yangtze River basin, Taiwan, Japan, and the Korean Peninsula. The species of the genus Xiurenbagrus are only distributed in the Pearl River basin.
Description
Fish of this family have dorsal fins covered by skin. An adipose fin is also present, and is fused with the caudal fin in some species. The dorsal fin base is short and the dorsal fin spine is weak. The anal fin base is short. There are six pairs of barbels. The lateral line is poorly developed or absent.