Mystus is a large genus of Asian bagrid catfishes (family Bagridae) found across freshwater systems from South Asia to Southeast Asia. The atlas covers 5 species ranging from roughly 7–14 in, with records from Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, and Nepal, a range spanning Himalayan foothill rivers through Mekong and Sunda-shelf drainages. Like other bagrids, Mystus species have scaleless, elongate bodies, four pairs of barbels around the mouth, a short adipose fin behind the dorsal, and a sharp, lockable spine at the leading edge of the dorsal and pectoral fins. Most are bottom-oriented, largely nocturnal omnivores that forage over sand, mud, and leaf litter for invertebrates, small fish, and organic debris, and several species support regional inland fisheries in addition to the aquarium trade.
Mystus vittatus, the striped catfish, is the genus's best-known aquarium export, a hardy, inexpensive scavenger long sold under names like the vittatus or Asian striped catfish and appreciated for its willingness to eat almost anything and its bold, striped juvenile pattern that softens with age. Other atlas species, such as M. bimaculatus (two-spot catfish) and M. tengara, appear far less often in the hobby and are known mainly from regional ichthyological surveys. With three of the atlas's five Mystus species not yet formally evaluated and the remaining two rated Least Concern, the genus does not currently read as a conservation priority, though population trends for South and Southeast Asian river catfishes like these are rarely tracked outside the better-studied species.