Taxonomy & naming
Neosilurus manjandi was described in 2026 by Michael P. Hammer, Glenn I. Moore, Gerald R. Allen, Mark Adams and Peter J. Unmack in Zootaxa. The species was first flagged during a 2014 survey program in the eastern Kimberley, run in partnership with local land and sea rangers, when an unusual eeltail catfish morphotype was recorded. Nuclear and mitochondrial genetic assessments subsequently confirmed it as a distinct candidate species, and the authors combined these genetic lines of evidence with morphology to formally describe it. It belongs to the family Plotosidae — the eeltail catfishes, an air-breathing, whisker-barbeled group found across Australia, New Guinea and the Indo-Pacific — within the genus Neosilurus.
The holotype (WAM P.34043-011) was collected from small falls upstream at Jack's Waterhole on the Durack River, part of the Pentecost River system, Western Australia; paratypes are held at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, the Northern Territory Museum, and the Western Australian Museum. The Catalog of Fishes (Eschmeyer, California Academy of Sciences) records Neosilurus manjandi Hammer, Moore, Allen, Adams & Unmack, 2026 as the valid, currently accepted name.
Morphology
The accessible abstract describes Neosilurus manjandi by a distinctive combination of characters: a moderately extended caudodorsal fin, a small first dorsal fin, hard sharp fin spines, and a depressed (flattened) head. No absolute body length in centimetres is given in the accessible abstract. Like other Neosilurus, it can be expected to have the genus's elongate, eel-like body, a continuous caudodorsal-caudal-anal fin margin, and barbels around the mouth — a genus-level generality, not a specific measurement from the paper.
Habitat
Neosilurus manjandi is known from sandstone upland streams and gorges in the Pentecost and Drysdale river catchments of the eastern Kimberley, Western Australia — specifically the Pentecost River system and a small section of the mid-Drysdale River main channel, per the Catalog of Fishes distribution record. The Kimberley is described in the accessible abstract as an exceptional region for endemic freshwater fishes, and the species' sandstone gorge habitat implies rocky substrate and seasonally variable flow typical of the region's monsoonal hydrology, though no specific water-chemistry data were reported in the accessible abstract.
Feeding
No feeding observations are available for Neosilurus manjandi. Like other Neosilurus, it is presumed to be a nocturnal omnivore and invertebrate feeder foraging along the streambed — a genus-level generality, not a documented observation for this species.
Mating
No courtship or spawning behaviour has been recorded for Neosilurus manjandi, and no external sexual dimorphism is described in the accessible abstract. This is a 2026 description.
Breeding
Neosilurus manjandi has never been kept or bred in captivity, and breeding biology of the species itself is undocumented. Other Neosilurus species are known to be seasonal, wet-season spawners — a genus-level generality, not confirmed for this species.
In the aquarium
Neosilurus manjandi is not present in the aquarium trade — it is known only from scientific survey material collected in the eastern Kimberley of Western Australia, a region with strict biosecurity controls on the export of native fauna. Were it ever to appear in the trade, the general approach for small Neosilurus would apply: warm, well-oxygenated water, a sand or fine-gravel substrate, and shelter such as rock crevices or driftwood, fed sinking foods after dark. As with other Plotosidae, the dorsal and pectoral fin spines carry venom glands and can inflict a painful sting, so fish should be handled with care. These are genus-level cautions, not confirmed data for this species.
Conservation
Neosilurus manjandi has not been assessed by the IUCN Red List and carries a status of Not Evaluated, as expected for a species described in 2026. The describing authors note that maintaining refuge pools is likely to be a key conservation consideration for the species in the face of future catchment modification and climate change, and that preliminary genetic surveys of Kimberley freshwater plotosids have revealed several other cryptic lineages warranting further taxonomic assessment. No formal population or threat assessment specific to N. manjandi has been published in the material accessible for this article.