Abstract

• The Silond Catfish (Silonia silondia), locally known as Nga Myin Yinn, is an economically significant freshwater species in Myanmar facing threats from overexploitation and habitat degradation. Genomic sequencing, alongside morphological analysis, is essential to support accurate identification and conservation efforts for this species. A total of 50 fingerling Silond catfish were collected from the Twantay Canal (a connection to the Ayeyarwady River) was obtained in May 2023. Species identification was confirmed using morphological characteristics, the FishBase application, and molecular analysis through cytochrome c oxidase I (coxI) gene sequencing. Two primer sets—Fish F2/R2 and LCO 1490 / HCO 2198—were used to amplify the coxI region of mitochondrial DNA successfully, yielding 525 bp sequences with the BigDye terminator sequencing method. Analysis of sequence data in the NCBI database showed a high homology (>93% sequence identity) between S. silondia populations from Myanmar, India and Bangladesh. Phylogenetic analysis using neighbor-joining (NJ) trees placed S. silondia from Myanmar in the same clade as S. silondia populations from Bangladesh, indicating strong genetic similarity across regions.