Catfish (or catfishes;
order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of
ray-finned fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...
. Named for their prominent
barbel Barbel may refer to:
*Barbel (anatomy), a whisker-like organ near the mouth found in some fish (notably catfish, loaches and cyprinids) and turtles
*Barbel (fish), a common name for certain species of fish
**''Barbus barbus'', a species of cyprinid ...
s, which resemble a
cat
The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...
's
whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, the
Mekong giant catfish from
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
, the
wels catfish
The wels catfish ( or ; ''Silurus glanis''), also called sheatfish or just wels, is a large species of catfish native to wide areas of central, southern, and eastern Europe, in the basins of the Baltic, Black and Caspian Seas. It has been introd ...
of
Eurasia
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...
, and the
piraíba of
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
, to
detritivores (species that eat dead material on the bottom), and even to a tiny
parasitic
Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...
species commonly called the
candiru, ''Vandellia cirrhosa''. Neither the armour-plated types nor the naked types have scales. Despite their name, not all catfish have prominent barbels or "whiskers". Members of the Siluriformes order are defined by features of the skull and
swimbladder
The swim bladder, gas bladder, fish maw, or air bladder is an internal gas-filled organ that contributes to the ability of many bony fish (but not cartilaginous fish) to control their buoyancy, and thus to stay at their current water depth wit ...
. Catfish are of considerable commercial importance; many of the larger species are
farmed or fished for food. Many of the smaller species, particularly the genus ''
Corydoras
''Corydoras'' is a genus of freshwater catfish in the family Callichthyidae and subfamily Corydoradinae. The species usually have more restricted areas of endemism than other callichthyids, but the area of distribution of the entire genus almost ...
'', are important in the
aquarium hobby. Many catfish are
nocturnal,
[Catfish Varieties](_blank)
animal-world.com[Wong, Kate (6 June 2001]
"How Nocturnal Catfish Stalk Their Prey"
''Scientific American''. but others (many
Auchenipteridae) are
crepuscular or
diurnal (most
Loricariidae
The Loricariidae is the largest family of catfish (order Siluriformes), with 92 genera and just over 680 species. Loricariids originate from freshwater habitats of Costa Rica, Panama, and tropical and subtropical South America. These fish are not ...
or
Callichthyidae
Callichthyidae is a family of catfishes (order Siluriformes), called armored catfishes due to the two rows of bony plates (or scutes) along the lengths of their bodies. It contains some of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish, such as many ...
, for example).
Ecology
Distribution and habitat
Extant catfish species live inland or in coastal waters of every continent except
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
. Catfish have inhabited all continents at one time or another.
They are most diverse in
tropical South America, Asia, and Africa, with one family native to North America and one family in Europe.
[ More than half of all catfish species live in the Americas. They are the only ostariophysans that have entered freshwater habitats in ]Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
, Australia, and New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...
.
They are found in fresh water environments, though most inhabit shallow, running water. Representatives of at least eight families are hypogean
Hypogeal, hypogean, hypogeic and hypogeous (; ) are biological terms describing an organism's activity below the soil surface.
In botany, a seed is described as showing hypogeal germination when the cotyledons of the germinating seed remain non ...
(live underground) with three families that are also troglobitic
A troglobite (or, formally, troglobiont) is an animal species, or population of a species, strictly bound to underground habitats, such as caves. These are separate from species that mainly live in above-ground habitats but are also able to live u ...
(inhabiting caves). One such species is '' Phreatobius cisternarum'', known to live underground in phreatic habitats. Numerous species from the families Ariidae
The Ariidae or ariid catfish are a family of catfish that mainly live in marine waters with many freshwater and brackish water species. They are found worldwide in tropical to warm temperate zones. The family includes about 143 species.
Taxonomy ...
and Plotosidae, and a few species from among the Aspredinidae
The Aspredinidae are a small South American family of catfishes (order Siluriformes) also known as the banjo catfishes, with about 43 species.
Distribution
Aspredinids are found throughout the major tropical rivers of South America (e.g., Magda ...
and Bagridae
The Bagridae are a family of catfish that are native to Africa (''Bagrus'') and Asia (all other genera) from Japan to Borneo. It includes about 245 species. These fish are commonly known as naked catfishes or bagrid catfishes.
Many large bagrids ...
, are found in salt water.
In the Southern United States, catfish species may be known by a variety of slang names, such as "mud cat", "polliwogs", or "chuckleheads". These nicknames are not standardized, so one area may call a bullhead catfish by the nickname "chucklehead", while in another state or region, that nickname refers to the blue catfish.
As invasive species
Representatives of the genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
''Ictalurus
''Ictalurus'' is a genus of North American freshwater catfishes. It includes the well-known channel catfish (''Ictalurus punctatus'') and blue catfish (''Ictalurus furcatus'').
The catfish genome database (cBARBEL) is a database for the genetics ...
'' have been introduced into European waters in the hope of obtaining a sporting and food resource, but the European stock of American catfishes has not achieved the dimensions of these fish in their native waters, and have only increased the ecological pressure on native European fauna. Walking catfish
The walking catfish (''Clarias batrachus'') is a species of freshwater airbreathing catfish native to Southeast Asia. It is named for its ability to "walk" and wiggle across dry land, to find food or suitable environments. While it does not tru ...
have also been introduced in the freshwater areas of Florida, with the voracious catfish becoming a major alien pest there. Flathead catfish
The flathead catfish (''Pylodictis olivaris''), also called by several common names including mudcat or shovelhead cat, is a large species of North American freshwater catfish in the family Ictaluridae. It is the only species of the genus '' ...
, ''Pylodictis olivaris'', is also a North American pest on Atlantic slope drainages.[ '']Pterygoplichthys
''Pterygoplichthys'', sometimes collectively known as janitor fish, is a genus of South American armored catfishes. These fish are commonly known as sailfin armoured catfish or sailfin plecs, especially in the aquarium trade.
Etymology
''Pte ...
'' species, released by aquarium fishkeepers, have also established feral
A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...
populations in many warm waters around the world.
Physical characteristics
External anatomy of catfish
Most catfish are bottom feeder
A bottom feeder is an aquatic animal that feeds on or near the bottom of a body of water. Biologists often use the terms ''benthos''—particularly for invertebrates such as shellfish, crabs, crayfish, sea anemones, starfish, snails, bristlewo ...
s. In general, they are negatively buoyant, which means that they usually sink rather than float due to a reduced gas bladder and a heavy, bony head. Catfish have a variety of body shapes, though most have a cylindrical body with a flattened ventrum to allow for benthic feeding.
A flattened head allows for digging through the substrate, as well as perhaps serving as a hydrofoil. Some have a mouth that can expand to a large size and contains no incisiform teeth; catfish generally feed through suction or gulping rather than biting and cutting prey. Some families, though, notably the Loricariidae
The Loricariidae is the largest family of catfish (order Siluriformes), with 92 genera and just over 680 species. Loricariids originate from freshwater habitats of Costa Rica, Panama, and tropical and subtropical South America. These fish are not ...
and Astroblepidae, have a suckermouth In fish, a suckermouth is a ventrally-oriented (inferior) mouth adapted for grazing on algae and small organisms that grow on submerged objects.
All Loricariidae possess a suckermouth as do the cypriniform algae eaters of the genus ''Gyrinocheilus' ...
that allows them to fasten themselves to objects in fast-moving water. Catfish also have a maxilla
The maxilla (plural: ''maxillae'' ) in vertebrates is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In humans, the upper jaw includes the hard palate in the front of the mouth. T ...
reduced to a support for barbels
In fish anatomy and turtle anatomy, a barbel is a slender, whiskerlike sensory organ near the mouth. Fish that have barbels include the catfish, the carp, the goatfish, the hagfish, the sturgeon, the zebrafish, the black dragonfish and some s ...
; this means that they are unable to protrude their mouths as other fish such as carp.
Catfish may have up to four pairs of barbels - nasal, maxillary (on each side of mouth), and two pairs of chin barbels, though pairs of barbels may be absent depending on the species. Catfish barbels always occur in pairs. Many larger catfish also have chemoreceptor
A chemoreceptor, also known as chemosensor, is a specialized sensory receptor which transduces a chemical substance (endogenous or induced) to generate a biological signal. This signal may be in the form of an action potential, if the chemorecept ...
s across their entire bodies, which means they "taste" anything they touch and "smell" any chemicals in the water. "In catfish, gustation plays a primary role in the orientation and location of food". Because their barbels and chemoreception are more important in detecting food, the eyes on catfish are generally small. Like other ostariophysans, they are characterized by the presence of a Weberian apparatus. Their well-developed Weberian apparatus and reduced gas bladder allow for improved hearing
Hearing, or auditory perception, is the ability to perceive sounds through an organ, such as an ear, by detecting vibrations as periodic changes in the pressure of a surrounding medium. The academic field concerned with hearing is audit ...
and sound production.
Catfish do not have scales; their bodies are often naked. In some species, their mucus-covered skin is used in cutaneous respiration Cutaneous respiration, or cutaneous gas exchange (sometimes called, skin breathing), is a form of respiration in which gas exchange occurs across the skin or outer integument of an organism rather than gills or lungs. Cutaneous respiration may be ...
, where the fish breathes through its skin. In some catfish, the skin is covered in bony plates called scute
A scute or scutum (Latin: ''scutum''; plural: ''scuta'' "shield") is a bony external plate or scale overlaid with horn, as on the shell of a turtle, the skin of crocodilians, and the feet of birds. The term is also used to describe the anterior po ...
s; some form of body armor appears in various ways within the order. In loricarioids and in the Asian genus ''Sisor
''Sisor'' is a genus of catfishes native to Asia.
Taxonomy
''Sisor'' was previously monotypic, containing only ''S. rabdophorus'', prior to a review of the genus in 2003 in which the three species ''S. chennuah'', ''S. rheophilus'', and ''S. tor ...
'', the armor is primarily made up of one or more rows of free dermal plates. Similar plates are found in large specimens of '' Lithodoras''. These plates may be supported by vertebra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristi ...
l processes, as in scoloplacids and in ''Sisor'', but the processes never fuse to the plates or form any external armor. By contrast, in the subfamily Doumeinae (family Amphiliidae) and in hoplomyzontines (Aspredinidae
The Aspredinidae are a small South American family of catfishes (order Siluriformes) also known as the banjo catfishes, with about 43 species.
Distribution
Aspredinids are found throughout the major tropical rivers of South America (e.g., Magda ...
), the armor is formed solely by expanded vertebral processes that form plates. Finally, the lateral armor of doradids, ''Sisor'', and hoplomyzontines consists of hypertrophied lateral line ossicle
The ossicles (also called auditory ossicles) are three bones in either middle ear that are among the smallest bones in the human body. They serve to transmit sounds from the air to the fluid-filled labyrinth (cochlea). The absence of the auditory ...
s with dorsal and ventral lamina
Lamina may refer to:
Science and technology
* Planar lamina, a two-dimensional planar closed surface with mass and density, in mathematics
* Laminar flow, (or streamline flow) occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no disruption betwee ...
.
All catfish other than members of the Malapteruridae
Electric catfish or Malapteruridae is a family of catfishes (order Siluriformes). This family includes two genera, '' Malapterurus'' and '' Paradoxoglanis'', with 21 species. Several species of this family have the ability to generate electricit ...
(electric
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...
catfish), possess a strong, hollow, bony, leading spine-like ray on their dorsal
Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to:
* Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism
* Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage
* Dorsal c ...
and pectoral fin
Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...
s. As a defense, these spines may be locked into place so that they stick outwards, enabling them to inflict severe wounds.[ In numerous catfish species, these fin rays can be used to deliver a stinging ]protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...
if the fish is irritated; as many as half of all catfish species may be venomous in this fashion, making the Siluriformes overwhelmingly the vertebrate order with the largest number of venomous species. This venom is produced by glandular cells in the epidermal
The epidermis is the outermost of the three layers that comprise the skin, the inner layers being the dermis and hypodermis. The epidermis layer provides a barrier to infection from environmental pathogens and regulates the amount of water relea ...
tissue covering the spines. In members of the family Plotosidae and of the genus '' Heteropneustes'', this protein is so strong it may hospitalize humans who receive a sting; in '' Plotosus lineatus'', the stings can be lethal. The dorsal- and pectoral-fin spines are two of the most conspicuous features of siluriforms, and differ from those in other fish groups. Despite the widespread use of the spines for taxonomic and phylogenetic studies the fields have struggled to effectively use the information due to a lack of consistency in the nomenclature, with a general standard for the descriptive anatomy of catfish spines proposed in 2022 to try and resolve this problem.
Juvenile catfish, like most fish, have relatively large heads, eyes, and posterior median fins in comparison to larger, more mature individuals. These juveniles can be readily placed in their families, particularly those with highly derived fin or body shapes; in some cases, identification of the genus is possible. As far as known for most catfish, features that are often characteristic of species, such as mouth and fin positions, fin shapes, and barbel lengths, show little difference between juveniles and adults. For many species, pigmentation pattern is also similar in juveniles and adults. Thus, juvenile catfish generally resemble and develop smoothly into their adult form without distinct juvenile specializations. Exceptions to this are the ariid catfish, where the young retain yolk sacs late into juvenile stages, and many pimelodids, which may have elongated barbels and fin filaments or coloration patterns.
Sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most an ...
is reported in about half of all families of catfish. The modification of the anal fin into an intromittent organ (in internal fertilizers) as well as accessory structures of the reproductive apparatus (in both internal and external fertilizers) have been described in species belonging to 11 different families.
Size
Catfish have one of the greatest ranges in size within a single order of bony fish. Many catfish have a maximum length of under . Some of the smallest species of the Aspredinidae
The Aspredinidae are a small South American family of catfishes (order Siluriformes) also known as the banjo catfishes, with about 43 species.
Distribution
Aspredinids are found throughout the major tropical rivers of South America (e.g., Magda ...
and Trichomycteridae
Trichomycteridae is a family of catfishes commonly known as pencil catfishes or parasitic catfishes. This family includes the candiru fish (''Vandellia cirrhosa''), feared by some people for its alleged habit of entering into the urethra of hum ...
reach sexual maturity at only .[
The ]wels catfish
The wels catfish ( or ; ''Silurus glanis''), also called sheatfish or just wels, is a large species of catfish native to wide areas of central, southern, and eastern Europe, in the basins of the Baltic, Black and Caspian Seas. It has been introd ...
, ''Silurus glanis'', and the much smaller related Aristotle's catfish, are the only catfish indigenous to Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
; the former ranges throughout Europe, and the latter is restricted to Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
. Mythology
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...
and literature record wels catfish of astounding proportions, yet are to be proven scientifically. The typical size of the species is about , and fish more than are rare. However, they are known to exceed in length and in weight. In July 2009, a catfish weighing was caught in the River Ebro
, name_etymology =
, image = Zaragoza shel.JPG
, image_size =
, image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza
, map = SpainEbroBasin.png
, map_size =
, map_caption = The Ebro ...
, Spain, by an 11-year-old British schoolgirl.
In North America, the largest '' Ictalurus furcatus'' (blue catfish) caught in the Missouri River on 20 July 2010, weighed . The largest flathead catfish
The flathead catfish (''Pylodictis olivaris''), also called by several common names including mudcat or shovelhead cat, is a large species of North American freshwater catfish in the family Ictaluridae. It is the only species of the genus '' ...
, ''Pylodictis olivaris'', ever caught was in Independence, Kansas, weighing .
These records pale in comparison to a Mekong giant catfish caught in northern Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
on 1 May 2005, and reported to the press almost 2 months later, that weighed . This is the largest giant Mekong catfish caught since Thai officials started keeping records in 1981. Also in Asia, Jeremy Wade caught a goonch following three fatal attacks on humans in the Kali River on the India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
-Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
border. Wade was of the opinion that the offending fish must have been significantly larger than this to have taken an 18-year-old boy, as well as a water buffalo.
Piraíba ''( Brachyplatystoma filamentosum)'' can grow exceptionally large and are native to the Amazon Basin. They can occasionally grow to 200 kg (440 lb), as evidenced by numerous catches. Deaths from being swallowed by these fish have been reported in the region.
Internal anatomy
In many catfish, the "humeral process" is a bony process extending backward from the pectoral girdle
The shoulder girdle or pectoral girdle is the set of bones in the appendicular skeleton which connects to the arm on each side. In humans it consists of the clavicle and scapula; in those species with three bones in the shoulder, it consists of ...
immediately above the base of the pectoral fin. It lies beneath the skin, where its outline may be determined by dissecting the skin or probing with a needle.
The retina
The retina (from la, rete "net") is the innermost, light-sensitive layer of tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focused two-dimensional image of the visual world on the retina, which then ...
e of catfish are composed of single cone
A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex.
A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines con ...
s and large rods. Many catfish have a tapetum lucidum
The ''tapetum lucidum'' ( ; ; ) is a layer of tissue in the eye of many vertebrates and some other animals. Lying immediately behind the retina, it is a retroreflector. It reflects visible light back through the retina, increasing the light a ...
, which may help enhance photon
A photon () is an elementary particle that is a quantum of the electromagnetic field, including electromagnetic radiation such as light and radio waves, and the force carrier for the electromagnetic force. Photons are massless, so they a ...
capture and increase low-light sensitivity. Double cones, though present in most teleost
Teleostei (; Greek ''teleios'' "complete" + ''osteon'' "bone"), members of which are known as teleosts ), is, by far, the largest infraclass in the class Actinopterygii, the ray-finned fishes, containing 96% of all extant species of fish. Tele ...
s, are absent from catfish.
The anatomical organization of the testis
A testicle or testis (plural testes) is the male reproductive gland or gonad in all bilaterians, including humans. It is homologous to the female ovary. The functions of the testes are to produce both sperm and androgens, primarily testostero ...
in catfish is variable among the families of catfish, but the majority of them present fringed testis: Ictaluridae, Claridae, Auchenipteridae, Doradidae, Pimelodidae, and Pseudopimelodidae. In the testes of some species of Siluriformes, organs and structures such as a spermatogenic cranial region and a secretory caudal region are observed, in addition to the presence of seminal vesicles in the caudal region. The total number of fringes and their length are different in the caudal and cranial portions between species. Fringes of the caudal region may present tubules, in which the lumen is filled by secretion and spermatozoa. Spermatocysts are formed from cytoplasmic extensions of Sertoli cell
Sertoli cells are a type of sustentacular "nurse" cell found in human testes which contribute to the process of spermatogenesis (the production of sperm) as a structural component of the seminiferous tubules. They are activated by follicle-stimu ...
s; the release of spermatozoa is allowed by breaking of the cyst walls.
The occurrence of seminal vesicle
The seminal vesicles (also called vesicular glands, or seminal glands) are a pair of two convoluted tubular glands that lie behind the urinary bladder of some male mammals. They secrete fluid that partly composes the semen.
The vesicles are 5� ...
s, in spite of their interspecific variability in size, gross morphology, and function, has not been related to the mode of fertilization. They are typically paired, multichambered, and connected with the sperm duct
The vas deferens or ductus deferens is part of the male reproductive system of many vertebrates. The ducts transport sperm from the epididymis to the ejaculatory ducts in anticipation of ejaculation. The vas deferens is a partially coiled tube ...
, and have been reported to play glandular and storage functions. Seminal vesicle secretion may include steroids and steroid glucuronides, with hormonal and pheromonal functions, but it appears to be primarily constituted of mucoproteins, acid mucopolysaccharides, and phospholipids.
Fish ovaries may be of two types - gymnovarian or cystovarian. In the first type, the oocytes are released directly into the coelomic cavity and then eliminated. In the second type, the oocytes are conveyed to the exterior through the oviduct
The oviduct in mammals, is the passageway from an ovary. In human females this is more usually known as the Fallopian tube or uterine tube. The eggs travel along the oviduct. These eggs will either be fertilized by spermatozoa to become a zygote, o ...
. Many catfish are cystovarian in type, including '' Pseudoplatystoma corruscans'', '' P. fasciatum'', '' Lophiosilurus alexandri'', and '' Loricaria lentiginosa''.
Communication
Catfish can produce different types of sounds and also have well-developed auditory reception used to discriminate between sounds with different pitches and velocities. They are also able to determine the distance of the sound's origin and from what direction it originated. This is a very important fish communication mechanism, especially during agonistic
An agonist is a chemical that activates a receptor to produce a biological response. Receptors are cellular proteins whose activation causes the cell to modify what it is currently doing. In contrast, an antagonist blocks the action of the agon ...
and distress behaviors. Catfish are able to produce a variety of sounds for communication that can be classified into two groups: drumming sounds and stridulation
Stridulation is the act of producing sound by rubbing together certain body parts. This behavior is mostly associated with insects, but other animals are known to do this as well, such as a number of species of fish, snakes and spiders. The mech ...
sounds. The variability in catfish sound signals differs due to a few factors: the mechanism by which the sound is produced, the function of the resulting sound, and physiological differences such as size, sex, and age. To create a drumming sound, catfish use an indirect vibration mechanism using a swimbladder
The swim bladder, gas bladder, fish maw, or air bladder is an internal gas-filled organ that contributes to the ability of many bony fish (but not cartilaginous fish) to control their buoyancy, and thus to stay at their current water depth wit ...
. In these fishes, sonic muscles insert on the ramus Mulleri, also known as the elastic spring. The sonic muscles pull the elastic spring forward and extend the swimbladder. When the muscles relax, the tension in the spring quickly returns the swimbladder to its original position, which produces the sound.
Catfish also have a sound-generating mechanism in their pectoral fins
Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as see ...
. Many species in the catfish family possess an enhanced first pectoral fin ray, called the spine, which can be moved by large abductor and adductor muscles. The base of the catfishes' spines has a sequence of ridges, and the spine normally slides within a groove on the fish's pelvic girdle during routine movement; but, pressing the ridges on the spine against the pelvic girdle groove creates a series of short pulses. The movement is analogous to a finger moving down the teeth of a comb, and consequently a series of sharp taps is produced.
Sound-generating mechanisms are often different between the sexes. In some catfish, pectoral fins are longer in males than in females of similar length, and differences in the characteristic of the sounds produced were also observed. Comparison between families of the same order of catfish demonstrated family and species-specific patterns of vocalization, according to a study by Maria Clara Amorim. During courtship behavior in three species of ''Corydoras'' catfish, all males actively produced stridulation sounds before egg fertilization, and the species' songs were different in pulse number and sound duration.
Sound production in catfish may also be correlated with fighting and alarm calls. According to a study by Kaatz, sounds for disturbance (e.g. alarm) and agonistic behavior were not significantly different, which suggests distress sounds can be used to sample variation in agonistic sound production. However, in a comparison of a few different species of tropical catfish, some fish put under distress conditions produced a higher intensity of stridulatory sounds than drumming sounds. Differences in the proportion of drumming versus stridulation sounds depend on morphological constraints, such as different sizes of drumming muscles and pectoral spines. Due to these constraints, some fish may not even be able to produce a specific sound. In several different species of catfish, aggressive sound production occurs during cover site defense or during threats from other fish. More specifically, in long-whiskered catfish, drumming sounds are used as a threatening signal and stridulations are used as a defense signal. Kaatz investigated 83 species from 14 families of catfish, and determined that catfish produce more stridulatory sounds in disturbance situations and more swimbladder sounds in intraspecific conflicts.
Economic importance
Aquaculture
Catfish are easy to farm in warm climates, leading to inexpensive and safe food at local grocers. About 60% of U.S. farm-raised catfish are grown within a 65-mile (100-km) radius of Belzoni, Mississippi
Belzoni ( ) is a city in Humphreys County, Mississippi, United States, in the Mississippi Delta region, on the Yazoo River. The population was 2,235 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Humphreys County. It was named for the 19th-centur ...
. Channel catfish (''Ictalurus punctatus'') supports a $450 million/yr aquaculture industry.[ The largest producers are located in the ]Southern United States
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
, including Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
, Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
, and Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
.
Catfish raised in inland tanks or channels are usually considered safe for the environment, since their waste and disease should be contained and not spread to the wild.
In Asia, many catfish species are important as food. Several airbreathing catfish
Airbreathing catfish comprise the family Clariidae of the order Siluriformes. Sixteen genera and about 116 species of clariid fishes are described; all are freshwater species. Other groups of catfish also breathe air, such as the Callichthyidae ...
(Clariidae) and shark catfish
The shark catfishes form the family Pangasiidae. They are found in fresh and brackish waters across southern Asia, from Pakistan to Borneo. Among the 30-odd members of this family is the plant-eating, endangered Mekong giant catfish ''Pangasian ...
(Pangasiidae) species are heavily cultured in Africa and Asia. Exports of one particular shark catfish species from Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, ''Pangasius bocourti
Basa (''Pangasius bocourti'') is a species of catfish in the family Pangasiidae. Basa are native to the Mekong and Chao Phraya basins in Mainland Southeast Asia. These fish are important food fish with an international market. They are often l ...
'', have met with pressures from the U.S. catfish industry. In 2003, The United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
passed a law preventing the imported fish from being labeled as catfish. As a result, the Vietnamese exporters of this fish now label their products sold in the U.S. as "basa fish." Trader Joe's has labeled frozen fillets of Vietnamese ''Pangasius hypophthalmus
The iridescent shark, iridescent shark catfish (''Pangasianodon hypophthalmus'') is a species of shark catfish (family Pangasiidae) native to the rivers of Southeast Asia. Despite its name, it is not a shark. It is found in the Mekong basin as we ...
'' as "striper."
There is a large and growing ornamental fish trade, with hundreds of species of catfish, such as ''Corydoras
''Corydoras'' is a genus of freshwater catfish in the family Callichthyidae and subfamily Corydoradinae. The species usually have more restricted areas of endemism than other callichthyids, but the area of distribution of the entire genus almost ...
'' and armored suckermouth catfish (often called plecos), being a popular component of many aquaria. Other catfish commonly found in the aquarium trade are banjo catfish, talking catfish, and long-whiskered catfish
The Pimelodidae, commonly known as the long-whiskered catfishes, are a family of catfishes (order Siluriformes).
Taxonomy
The family Pimelodidae has undergone much revision. Currently, it contains about 30 genera and about 90 recognized and know ...
.
Catfish as food
Catfish have widely been caught and farmed for food for hundreds of years in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. Judgments as to the quality and flavor vary, with some food critics considering catfish excellent to eat, while others dismiss them as watery and lacking in flavor.[Jenny Baker (1988), ''Simply Fish'' p 36-37. Faver & Faber, London.] Catfish is high in vitamin D. Farm-raised catfish contains low levels of omega-3 fatty acid
Omega−3 fatty acids, also called Omega-3 oils, ω−3 fatty acids or ''n''−3 fatty acids, are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) characterized by the presence of a double bond, three atoms away from the terminal methyl group in their chem ...
s and a much higher proportion of omega-6 fatty acid
Omega-6 fatty acids (also referred to as ω-6 fatty acids or ''n''-6 fatty acids) are a family of polyunsaturated fatty acids that have in common a final carbon-carbon double bond in the ''n''-6 position, that is, the sixth bond, counting from ...
s.
In Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...
, catfish were often viewed as a delicacy
A delicacy is usually a rare and expensive food item that is considered highly desirable, sophisticated, or peculiarly distinctive within a given culture. Irrespective of local preferences, such a label is typically pervasive throughout a r ...
to be enjoyed on feast days
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does ...
and holidays. Migrants from Europe and Africa to the United States brought along this tradition, and in the Southern United States
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
, catfish is an extremely popular food.
The most commonly eaten species in the United States are the channel catfish and the blue catfish
The blue catfish (''Ictalurus furcatus'') is the largest species of North American catfish, reaching a length of and a weight of . The typical length is about 25–46 in (64–117 cm). The fish can live to 20 years. The native distribution o ...
, both of which are common in the wild and increasingly widely farmed. Farm-raised catfish became such a staple of the U.S. diet that President Ronald Reagan established National Catfish Day on June 25, 1987 to recognize "the value of farm-raised catfish."
Catfish is eaten in a variety of ways. In Europe, it is often cooked in similar ways to carp, but in the United States it is popularly crumbed with cornmeal and fried.[
In ]Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, catfish is usually served fried or grilled in street stalls called '' warung'' and eaten with vegetables, sambal
Sambal is an Indonesian chilli sauce or paste, typically made from a mixture of a variety of chilli peppers with secondary ingredients, such as shrimp paste, garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, palm sugar, and lime juice. ''Sambal'' is an ...
(a spicy relish
A relish is a cooked and pickled product made of chopped vegetables, fruits or herbs and is a food item typically used as a condiment to enhance a staple. Examples are chutneys and the North American relish, a pickled cucumber jam eaten with ho ...
or sauce), and usually '' nasi uduk'' (traditional coconut rice). The dish is called ''pecel lele'' or ''pecak lele''. ''Lele'' is the Indonesian word for catfish. The same dish can also be called as ''lele penyet'' (squashed catfish) if the fish is lightly squashed along with sambal with a stone mortar-and-pestle. The ''pecel''/''pecak'' version presents the fish in a separate plate while the mortar is solely for sambal.
In Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, catfish is called ''ikan keli'' and is fried with spices or grilled and eaten with tamarind
Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae ...
and Thai chili gravy and is also often eaten with steamed rice
Cooked rice refers to rice that has been cooked either by steaming or boiling. The terms steamed rice or boiled rice are also commonly used. Any variant of Asian rice (both Indica and Japonica varieties), African rice or wild rice, glutinous ...
.
In Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
and the India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n states of Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
, West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
and Assam, catfish (locally known as ''magur'') is eaten as a favored delicacy during the monsoons
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...
. In the Indian state of Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
, the local catfish, known as ''thedu or ''etta'' in Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
, is also popular.
In Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
, catfish is often cooked in paprika sauce (Harcsapaprikás) typical of Hungarian cuisine. It is traditionally served with pasta smothered with curd cheese (túrós csusza
Túrós csusza is a traditional Hungarian savoury curd cheese noodle dish made with small home-made noodles or pasta.
Traditionally, noodles used for this dish are home-made with flour and eggs, mixed into a dough, and torn by hand into uneven ...
).
In Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
(formally Burma), catfish is usually used in '' mohinga'', a traditional noodle fish soup cooked with lemon grass
''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, oily heads, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family.
Some s ...
, ginger, garlic, pepper, banana stem, onions, and other local ingredients.
Vietnamese catfish, of the genus ''Pangasius
''Pangasius'' is a genus of medium-large to very large shark catfishes native to fresh water in South and Southeast Asia. The term "pangasius" is sometimes used to specifically refer to the commercially important basa fish, ''P. bocourti''.
T ...
'', cannot be legally marketed as catfish in the United States, and so is referred to as ''swai'' or ''basa
Basa may refer to:
Agreements
* Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement, between National Aviation Authority regulators
People
* Basa (surname)
* Bassa people (Cameroon), also spelled Basa, an ethnic group
* Basa, leader and namesake of the Basing ...
''. Only fish of the family ''Ictaluridae
The Ictaluridae, sometimes called ictalurids, are a family of catfish native to North America, where they are an important food source and sometimes fished for sport. The family includes about 51 species, some commonly known as bullheads, madt ...
'' may be marketed as catfish in the United States.[Public Law 107-171, § 10806, 116 Stat. 526-527, codified in and ] In the UK, Vietnamese catfish is sometimes sold as "Vietnamese river cobbler", although more commonly as Basa.
In Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
, catfish is often cooked in a variety of stews. It is particularly cooked in a delicacy popularly known as "catfish pepper soup" which is enjoyed throughout the nation.
In Jewish dietary law, known as kashrut, fish must have fins and scales to be kosher. Since catfish lacks scales, they are not kosher.
Dangers to humans
While the vast majority of catfish are harmless to humans, a few species are known to present some risk. Many catfish species have "stings" (actually non-venomous in most cases) embedded behind their fins; thus precautions must be taken when handling them. Stings by the venomous striped eel catfish have killed people in rare cases.
Taxonomy
The catfish are a monophyletic group. This is supported by molecular evidence.
Catfish belong to a superorder called the Ostariophysi, which also includes the Cypriniformes, Characiformes
Characiformes is an order of ray-finned fish, comprising the characins and their allies. Grouped in 18 recognized families, more than 2000 different species are described, including the well-known piranha and tetras.; Buckup P.A.: "Relationsh ...
, Gonorynchiformes and Gymnotiformes, a superorder characterized by the Weberian apparatus. Some place Gymnotiformes as a sub-order of Siluriformes, however this is not as widely accepted. Currently, the Siluriformes are said to be the sister group to the Gymnotiformes, though this has been debated due to more recent molecular evidence. there are about 36 extant catfish families, and about 3,093 extant species have been described.[ This makes the catfish order the second or third most diverse ]vertebrate
Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with c ...
order; in fact, 1 out of every 20 vertebrate species is a catfish.
The taxonomy of catfish is quickly changing. In a 2007 and 2008 paper, '' Horabagrus'', '' Phreatobius'', and '' Conorhynchos'' were not classified under any current catfish families. There is disagreement on the family status of certain groups; for example, Nelson (2006) lists Auchenoglanididae and Heteropneustidae as separate families, while the All Catfish Species Inventory (ACSI) includes them under other families. Also, FishBase and the Integrated Taxonomic Information System lists Parakysidae as a separate family, while this group is included under Akysidae by both Nelson (2006) and ACSI. Many sources do not list the recently revised family Anchariidae
The Anchariidae are a family of catfishes containing two genera, '' Ancharius'' and '' Gogo'' with 6 species. Anchariids are a strictly freshwater group endemic to Madagascar. Anchariids are characterized by the presence of fringed barbels and a ...
. The family Horabagridae
Horabagridae is a proposed family of catfishes containing three genera, ''Horabagrus'', ''Platytropius'' and ''Pseudeutropius''. ''Horobagrus'' has been more usually assigned to the family Bagridae and sometimes it has been suggested it is close ...
, including ''Horabagrus'', '' Pseudeutropius'', and '' Platytropius'', is also not shown by some authors but presented by others as a true group. Thus, the actual number of families differs between authors. The species count is in constant flux due to taxonomic work as well as description of new species. On the other hand, our understanding of catfish should increase in the next few years due to work by the ACSI.
Between 2003 and 2005, over 100 species have been named, a rate three times faster than that of the past century. In June 2005, researchers named the newest family of catfish, Lacantuniidae, only the third new family of fish distinguished in the last 70 years (others being the coelacanth
The coelacanths ( ) are fish belonging to the order Actinistia that includes two extant species in the genus ''Latimeria'': the West Indian Ocean coelacanth (''Latimeria chalumnae''), primarily found near the Comoro Islands off the east coast ...
in 1938 and the megamouth shark
The megamouth shark (''Megachasma pelagios'') is a species of deepwater shark. It is rarely seen by humans and is the smallest of the three extant filter-feeding sharks alongside the relatively larger whale shark and basking shark. Since its d ...
in 1983). The new species in Lacantuniidae, '' Lacantunia enigmatica'', was found in the Lacantun river in the Mexican state of Chiapas.
The higher-level phylogeny of Siluriformes has gone through several recent changes, mainly due to molecular phylogenetic studies. While most studies, both morphological and molecular, agree that catfishes are arranged into three main lineages, the relationship among these lineages has been a contentious point in which morphological and molecular phylogenetic studies, performed for example by Rui Diogo, differ. The three main lineages in Siluriformes are the family Diplomystidae, the denticulate catfish suborder Loricarioidei (which includes the families Nematogenyidae, Trichomycteridae
Trichomycteridae is a family of catfishes commonly known as pencil catfishes or parasitic catfishes. This family includes the candiru fish (''Vandellia cirrhosa''), feared by some people for its alleged habit of entering into the urethra of hum ...
, Callichthyidae
Callichthyidae is a family of catfishes (order Siluriformes), called armored catfishes due to the two rows of bony plates (or scutes) along the lengths of their bodies. It contains some of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish, such as many ...
, Scoloplacidae, Astroblepidae, and Loricariidae
The Loricariidae is the largest family of catfish (order Siluriformes), with 92 genera and just over 680 species. Loricariids originate from freshwater habitats of Costa Rica, Panama, and tropical and subtropical South America. These fish are not ...
, which is sometimes referred to as the superfamily Loricarioidea), and the suborder Siluroidei, which contains the remaining families of the order. According to morphological data, Diplomystidae is usually considered to be the earliest branching catfish lineage and the sister group to the other two lineages, Loricarioidei and Siluroidei. Molecular evidence usually contrasts with this hypothesis, and shows the suborder Loricarioidei as the earliest branching catfish lineage, and sister to a clade that includes the Diplomystidae and Siluroidei. While in the first study this relationship was proposed the "morphological" hypothesis could not be rejected, the new, "molecular" phylogenetic hypothesis was later obtained in numerous other phylogenetic studies based on genetic data. However, a recent study based on molecular data argued that the previous "molecular" hypothesis is the result of phylogenetic artifacts due to a strong heterogeneity in evolutionary rates among siluriform lineages. In that study it was suggested that the fast evolution of the Loricarioidei suborder was attracting this clade to the outgroups through long branch attraction
In phylogenetics, long branch attraction (LBA) is a form of systematic error whereby distantly related lineages are incorrectly inferred to be closely related. LBA arises when the amount of molecular or morphological change accumulated within a lin ...
, incorrectly placing it as the earliest-branching catfish lineage. When a data filtering method was used to reduce lineage rate heterogeneity (the potential source of bias) on their dataset, a final phylogeny was recovered which showed the Diplomystidae are the earliest-branching catfish, followed by Loricarioidei and Siluroidei as sister lineages. Thus, there is currently both morphological ''and'' molecular evidence for a higher-level phylogenetic arrangement of Siluriformes in which Diplomystidae is the earliest branching catfish, sister to a clade including the Loricarioidei and Siluroidei suborders.
Below is a list of family relationships by different authors. Lacantuniidae is included in the Sullivan scheme based on recent evidence that places it sister to Claroteidae.
Phylogeny
Phylogeny of living Siluriformes based on 2017 and extinct families based on Nelson, Grande & Wilson 2016.
Unassigned families:
* Scoloplacidae (Loricarioidei)
* Akysidae (Sisoroidea)
* Amblycipitidae (Sisoroidea)
* Anchariidae
The Anchariidae are a family of catfishes containing two genera, '' Ancharius'' and '' Gogo'' with 6 species. Anchariids are a strictly freshwater group endemic to Madagascar. Anchariids are characterized by the presence of fringed barbels and a ...
(Arioidea)
* Ariidae
The Ariidae or ariid catfish are a family of catfish that mainly live in marine waters with many freshwater and brackish water species. They are found worldwide in tropical to warm temperate zones. The family includes about 143 species.
Taxonomy ...
(Arioidea)
* Amphiliidae (Big African catfishes)
* Austroglanididae
''Austroglanis'' is the only genus in the catfish family Austroglanididae. This family was split off from the Bagridae catfish family. All three species of catfishes in the family Austroglanididae are endemic to southern Africa (South Africa and ...
(Arioidea)
* Chacidae
''Chaca'' is the only genus in the catfish family Chacidae. These fish are commonly known as squarehead catfishes, frogmouth catfishes, or angler catfishes. These unusual fish have a sedentary lifestyle and spend much of their time motionless.
T ...
(Siluroidei)
* '' Conorhynchos'' (Pimelodoidea)
* Cranoglanididae
''Cranoglanis'' is the only genus of armorhead catfishes.
Taxonomy
''Cranoglanis bouderius'' was first described as ''Bagrus bouderius'' in 1846 by John Richardson based on a Chinese watercolor painting. Wilhelm Peters later described ''Cranogl ...
(Ictaluroidea)
* Heteropneustidae (Clarioidea)
* Horabagridae
Horabagridae is a proposed family of catfishes containing three genera, ''Horabagrus'', ''Platytropius'' and ''Pseudeutropius''. ''Horobagrus'' has been more usually assigned to the family Bagridae and sometimes it has been suggested it is close ...
(Sisoroidea)
* Kryptoglanidae (Siluroidea)
* Lacantuniidae (Big African catfishes)
* Malapteruridae
Electric catfish or Malapteruridae is a family of catfishes (order Siluriformes). This family includes two genera, '' Malapterurus'' and '' Paradoxoglanis'', with 21 species. Several species of this family have the ability to generate electricit ...
(Big African catfishes)
* Phreatobiidae (Pimelodoidea)
* '' Rita'' (Sisoroidea)
* Schilbeidae (Big African catfishes)
Timeline
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from: -99.6 till: -65.5 color:latecretaceous text: Late
from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text: Paleo.
from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text: Eo.
from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text: Oligo.
from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text: Mio.
from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Pl.
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from: -145.5 till: -65.5 color:cretaceous text: Cretaceous
from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text: Paleogene
from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text: Neogene
from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q.
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from: -99.6 till: -65.5 color:latecretaceous text: Late
from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text: Paleo.
from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text: Eo.
from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text: Oligo.
from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text: Mio.
from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Pl.
from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text: Pl.
from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text: H.
bar:era
from: -145.5 till: -65.5 color:cretaceous text: Cretaceous
from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text: Paleogene
from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text: Neogene
from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q.
Catfish fishing records
By information from International Game Fish Association IGFA
The International Game Fish Association (''IGFA'') is the leading authority on angling pursuits and the keeper of the most current World Record fishing catches by fish categories. Fishermen who are sport fishers are careful to follow their strin ...
the most outstanding record:
* The biggest flathead catfish caught was by Ken Paulie in the Elk City Reservoir
The Elk City Reservoir is a reservoir located east of Elk City, Kansas. The dam that forms the lake was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It has approximately 4,500 acres (18 km2) of water, and 12,000 acres (49 km2) of wi ...
in Kansas, USA on 19 May 1998 that weighed 55.79 kg (123 lbs. 0 oz.)
References
External links
All catfish species inventory
"Giant Baghair caught in Jamuna"
in ''The Daily Star'' (Bangladesh), 12 May 2009
* Skelton, Paul H. and Teugels, Guy G. 1992
Ichthyological Bulletin; No. 56: Neotype description for the African catfish Clarias Gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) (Pisces: Siluroidei: Clariidae)
J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
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Edible fish
Commercial fish
Ostariophysi
Late Cretaceous fish
Extant Late Cretaceous first appearances
Taxa named by Georges Cuvier