Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii

Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Siluriformes
Family:	Pimelodidae
Genus:	Brachyplatystoma
Species:	B. rousseauxii
Binomial name
Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii (Castelnau, 1855)
Synonyms
Bagrus goliath Bagrus rousseauxii Brachyplatystoma paraense

Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii, the gilded catfish or dourada ^[a] , is a species of catfish of the family Pimelodidae that is native to the Amazon and Orinoco River basins and major rivers of French Guiana. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Named in honor of Louis Rousseau (1811-1874), assistant naturalist, Muséum d’histoire naturelle in Paris. ^[5]

Description

It grows to a length of 192 cm (76 in). ^[2] Body is characterized by platinum head and gold body. Adults have short barbels. Caudal-fin in adults deeply-forked with narrow lobes. ^[6]

Distribution

It is a much widespread species that is found in fluvial systems in the Guianas and northeastern Brazil and Amazon and Orinoco river drainage. ^[3]

Ecology

It is a demersal fish commonly inhabits deeper, flowing channels. It is primarily piscivorous, with the adults taking a wide variety of fish: recorded prey include other catfish ( Auchenipterus nuchalis , Cetopsis coecutiens , Hypoptopoma sp. , Pinirampus pirinampu , Pimelodus sp. , Platysilurus barbatus ), characiformes ( Curimata sp. , Hydrolycus scomberoides , Mylossoma duriventris , Potamorhina spp. , Prochilodus nigricans , Psectrogaster spp. , Schizodon fasciatus , Tetragonopterus sp. , Triportheus spp. ) and anchovies. 42.8% of dourada surveyed had consumed plant matter, and 1.8% ate insects. ^{[6] [7]} Larvae drifting downriver consume invertebrates, such as planktonic crustaceans and aquatic insects. ^[8]

Developing larvae are carried downriver by the flow, ^[9] all the way to estuarine habitats. ^{[10] [11]} Juveniles and sub adults are migratory, traveling upriver back to its spawning grounds. ^{[3] [11]} It is considered to have the longest freshwater migration of any known fish species, with some fish travelling 5,500 kilometres (3,400 mi) from the mouth of the Amazon to its spawning grounds. ^{[12] [10]} Females mature at larger sizes than males, both at around 80 centimetres (31 in); in the Caqueta, they matured between their 3rd and 4th year, which is later than the fish in the Peruvian Amazon which mature around 2.5 years old. Longevity is estimated at 11-13 years old; a 143 centimetres (56 in) female was measured to be 12.9 years old. ^[13]

Relation to humans

The dourada is an important species for fisheries, being considered one of two most important catfish species in that regard, ^[10] and considered the most important in the western Amazon. ^[13]

Notes

1. ("golden" in Portuguese, a common name for fish)

References

1. Salvador, G.N.; Van Damme, P.A.; Doria, C.R.C.; Cañas, C.; García Vásquez, A.; Carvajal-Vallejos, F.M.; Sarmiento, J.; Miranda-Chumacero, G.; Córdova Clavijo, L.; Hauser, M.; Duponchelle, F. (2023). "Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2023: e.T167648A53827634. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T167648A53827634.en . Retrieved 5 March 2024.
2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii". FishBase . June 2020 version.
3. "Cat-eLog - Pimelodidae - Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii". Planet Catfish. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
4. Córdoba, Edwin Agudelo; León, Ángela Viviana Joven; Bonilla-Castillo, César Augusto; Petrere Junior, Miguel; Peláez, Marlón; Duponchelle, Fabrice (2013). "Breeding, growth and exploitation of Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii Castelnau, 1855 in the Caqueta River, Colombia". Neotropical Ichthyology. 11 (3): 637–647. doi: 10.1590/S1679-62252013000300017 .
5. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (16 September 2024). "Family PIMELODIDAE Bonaparte 1835 (Long-whiskered Catfishes)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
6. "Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii (CASTELNAU, 1855) - Dourada". Seriously Fish. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
7. Vasquez, Aurea Garcia; SÁNCHEZ-RIBEIRO, Homero; Rodriguez, Ronald Alexander; Montreuil-Frias, Victor Hugo (2009). "HÁBITOS ALIMENTICIOS DEL DORADO Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii (Castelnau, 1855) EN LA AMAZONÍA PERUANA". Folia Amazónica. 18 (1–2): 7. doi:10.24841/fa.v18i1-2.333 – via researchgate.net.
8. Márquez-Velásquez, Viviana; Leite, Rosseval Galdino; Hernandez-Serna, Andres; Alvarado, Fredy (2021). "Larval diet of two Amazonian goliath catfish species". Journal of Fish Biology. 98 (1): 333–336. Bibcode:2021JFBio..98..333M. doi:10.1111/jfb.14565. PMID   32997350.
9. Rojas, María; Olivera, Robinson; Quispe, Roberto; Hernán, Ortega (July 2007). "Estudio preliminar de ictioplancton de la Amazonia peruana con énfasis en la familia Pimelodidae" [Preliminary study of the Peruvian Amazon ichthyoplankton with emphasis on the Pimelodidae family]. Revista Peruana de Biología (in Spanish). 13 (3): 263–266. doi: 10.15381/rpb.v13i3.2354 .
10. Batista, J.S.; Alves-Gomes, J.A. (2006). "Phylogeography of Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii (Siluriformes - Pimelodidae) in the Amazon Basin offers preliminary evidence for the first case of "homing" for an Amazonian migratory catfish". Genetics and Molecular Research. 5 (4): 723–740. PMID   17183483. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
11. Jimenez, Erica Antunez; Filho, Mutsuo Asano; Frédou, Flávia Lucena (June 2013). "FISH BYCATCH OF THE LAULAO CATFISH Brachyplatystoma vaillantii (VALENCIENNES, 1840) TRAWL FISHERY IN THE AMAZON ESTUARY". Brazilian Journal of Oceanography. 61 (2): 129–140. doi: 10.1590/S1679-87592013000200005 .
12. Barthem, Ronaldo B.; Goulding, Michael; Leite, Rosseval G.; Cañas, Carlos; Forsberg, Bruce; Venticinque, Eduardo; Petry, Paulo; Ribeiro, Mauro L. de B.; Chuctaya, Junior; Mercado, Armando (2016). "Goliath catfish spawning in the far western Amazon confirmed by the distribution of mature adults, drifting larvae and migrating juveniles". Scientific Reports. 7 (1): 41784. doi:10.1038/srep41784. PMC   5292968 . PMID   28165499.
13. Córdoba, Edwin Agudelo; León, Ángela Viviana Joven; Bonilla Castillo, César Augusto; Petrere Junior, Miguel; Peláez, Marlón; Duponchelle, Fabrice (2013). "Breeding, growth and exploitation of Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii Castelnau, 1855 in the Caqueta River, Colombia". Neotropical Ichthyology. 11 (3): 637–647. doi: 10.1590/S1679-62252013000300017 – via scielo.br.

External links

• A García Vásquez; J-C Alonso; F Carvajal; J Moreau; J Nuñez; J-F Renno; S Tello; V Montreuil; F Duponchelle (Dec 2009). "Life-history Characteristics of the Large Amazonian Migratory Catfish Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii in the Iquitos Region, Peru". J Fish Biol. 75 (10): 2527–2751. Bibcode:2009JFBio..75.2527G. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2009.02444.x. PMID   20738506.
• Jacqueline Batista; José Alves-Gomes; Izeni Farias (2006). "Caracterização genética da dourada - Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii - (Siluriformes: Pimelodidae) na Amazônia utilizando marcadores moleculares mitocondriais" [Genetic characterization of dourado - Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii - (Siluriformes: Pimelodidae) in the Amazon using mitochondrial molecular markers](PDF) (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 August 2009.