Catfish are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia, the wels catfish of Eurasia, and the piraíba of South America, to detritivores, and even to a tiny parasitic 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. 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, are important in the aquarium hobby. Many catfish are nocturnal, but others are crepuscular or diurnal.
Hypostomus is a genus of catfish in the family Loricariidae. They are native to tropical and subtropical South America. H. plecostomus is the popular freshwater aquarium fish formerly known as Plecostomus plecostomus. There is a lot of confusion as to the precise taxonomic structure of the Loricariidae.
Clarias is a genus of catfishes of the family Clariidae, the airbreathing catfishes. The name is derived from the Greek chlaros, which means lively, in reference to the ability of the fish to live for a long time out of water.
The stream catfishes comprise the family Akysidae of catfishes.
Wallago is a genus of catfishes order Siluriformes of the family Siluridae, or sheatfish. They are found in rivers throughout southern and southeastern Asia. The only extant species of this genus is Wallago attu.
Oreoglanis is a genus of fish in the family Sisoridae native to Asia. These fish live in fast-flowing streams in China, mainland Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. They are mainly distributed in the Mekong, upper Salween and Irrawaddy River drainages. They range from the Brahmaputra basin to the Lam River drainage in central Vietnam. They are easily distinguished from other catfishes by their strongly depressed head and body and greatly enlarged paired fins that have been modified to form an adhesive apparatus. The flattened shape of these fish and the large pectoral and pelvic fins provide essential adhesion in the fast-flowing waters they live in.
Pseudolaguvia tenebricosa is a species of catfish. It is only known from a fast-flowing hill stream called Pathe Chaung, near Taungoo in southern Burma.
Akysis is the largest genus of catfishes of the family Akysidae.
Akysis longifilis is a species of catfish belonging to the family Akysidae, the stream catfishes. It is only known to inhabit the Sittang River basin in southern Myanmar.
Kryptopterus geminus is a species of catfish belonging to the family Siluridae. It can be distinguished from all its congeners, with the exception of Kryptopterus cryptopterus, by the almost flat dorsal profile with no concavity behind the head. This species grows to a length of 17.1 centimetres (6.7 in) SL.
Pseudobagarius meridionalis is a species of catfish belonging to the family Akysidae. It is only known from the Barito River basin in southern Borneo.
Pseudobagrus is a genus of bagrid catfishes that inhabit streams and rivers throughout East Asia. About half of these species occur in China.
Amblyceps is a genus of fish in the family Amblycipitidae. The genera Amblyceps and Liobagrus are sister group pair that is, in turn, sister to Xiurenbagrus. These species are easily distinguished by the presence of pinnate processes along the median caudal-fin rays, a prominent cup-like skin flap above the base of the pectoral spine and the adipose fin largely separate from the caudal fin. In most species the caudal fin is deeply forked; A. apangi and A. murraystuarti differ in having their caudal fin truncate. Amblyceps species may reach about 100 millimetres (3.94 in) SL.
Parakysis is a genus of catfishes of the family Akysidae. It includes six species.
Breitensteinia is a genus of catfishes of the family Akysidae. It includes three species.
Acrochordonichthys is a genus of catfishes of the family Akysidae. It includes ten species.
Pseudobagarius is a genus of catfishes of the family Akysidae.
The Somalia catfish is a species of catfish in the family Bagridae. The Somalia catfish is native to the Jubba River in Somalia.
Microsynodontis notata is a species of upside-down catfish endemic to Gabon where it occurs in the Ogowe River. It was first described in 2004 by Ng Heok Hee.
Ompok bimaculatus, known as butter catfish, is a species of sheatfishes native to Asian countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, but recently identified in Myanmar.
