Basa (fish)
species of edible fish, in the genus Pangasius
Basa (Pangasius bocourti), as it is commonly referred to, is a species of primarily freshwater-dwelling catfish in the shark-catfish family, Pangasiidae, native to the Mekong and Chao Phraya river basins of Mainland Southeast Asia. Economically, these fish are important as a regional food source, and are also prized on the international market. Outside Asia, such as in North America or Australia, they are often referred to as "basa fish" or "swai" or by their specific name, "bocourti". In the United Kingdom, all species of Pangasius may, legally, be described as "river cobbler", "cobbler", "basa", "pangasius" or simply "panga", as well as any of these names with the addition of "catfish". In the rest of mainland Europe, these fish are mostly sold as "pangasius" or "panga". In Asian fish markets, names for basa also include "Pacific dory" and "patin". Other, related shark-catfish species may occasionally be labeled—albeit incorrectly—as basa, including the iridescent shark (P. hypophthalmus) and the yellowtail catfish (P. pangasius).
Description
The body of the basa is stout and heavy. The rounded head is broader than it is long, with the blunt snout having a white band on its muzzle. This species grows to a maximum length of 120 centimetres (47 inches).
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Basa (fish)” as species of edible fish, in the genus Pangasius. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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This entry incorporates text from “Basa (fish)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.