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.
Ancistrus is a genus of nocturnal freshwater fish in the family Loricariidae of order Siluriformes, native to freshwater habitats in South America and Panama. Fish of this genus are common in the aquarium trade where they are known as bushynose or bristlenose catfish. In the aquarium hobby they are often referred to as bushynose or bristlenose plecos instead, but this may lead to confusion as "pleco" usually is used for Hypostomus plecostomus and its allies and is often used as a catchall term for any loricariids remotely resembling that species.
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. The taxonomic structure of the Loricariidae is still being expanded by scientists. Hypostomus is a highly species-rich and widely distributed catfish genus.
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 equals the area of distribution of the family, except for Panama where Corydoras is not present. Corydoras species are distributed in South America where they can be found from the east of the Andes to the Atlantic coast, from Trinidad to the Río de la Plata drainage in northern Argentina. Species assigned to Corydoras display a broad diversity of body shapes and coloration. Corydoras are small fish, ranging from 2.5 to 12 cm in SL., and are protected from predators by their body armor and by their sharp, typically venomous spines.
The Aspredinidae are a small South American family of catfishes also known as the banjo catfishes, with about 43 species.
The stream catfishes comprise the family Akysidae of catfishes.
The black bullhead or black bullhead catfish is a species of bullhead catfish. Like other bullhead catfish, it has the ability to thrive in waters that are low in oxygen, brackish, turbid and/or very warm. It also has barbels located near its mouth, a broad head, spiny fins, and no scales. It can be identified from other bullheads as the barbels are black, and it has a tan crescent around the tail. Its caudal fin is truncated. Like virtually all catfish, it is nocturnal, preferring to feed at night, although young feed during the day. It generally does not get as large as the channel or blue catfish, with average adult weights are in the 1-to-2-pound range, and almost never as large as 4 pounds (1.8 kg). It has a typical length of 6–14 inches (15–36 cm), with the largest specimen being 24 inches (61 cm), making it the largest of the bullheads. It is typically black or dark brown on the dorsal side of its body and yellow or white on the ventral side.
The loach catfishes are a family, Amphiliidae, of catfishes. They are widespread in tropical Africa, but are most common in streams at high elevations; most species are able to cling to rocks in fast-flowing streams. The 13 genera contain 68 species.
Bagarius is an Asian genus of catfishes of the family Sisoridae. It includes five to six extant species and potentially one extinct fossil species, B. gigas.
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.
Chiloglanis is a genus of upside-down catfishes native to Africa. These species have modified lips and barbels that form a suckermouth. They also have a naked (scaleless) body. Sexual dimorphism has been reported in Chiloglanis. The adult males of many of these species have elongate anal and caudal fins. Also, males may have an enlarged humeral process.
The bayad, is a species of bagrid catfish from Africa.
Cephalopholis boenak, the chocolate hind, brownbarred rockcod, brown-banded cod or brown-banded rockcod, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is in the family Serranidae which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is associated with reefs over a wide Indo-Pacific distribution. It is an important species for commercial fisheries in some parts of its range.
Synodontis petricola, known as the cuckoo catfish, or the pygmy leopard catfish, is a species of upside-down catfish endemic to Burundi, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Tanzania where it is only known from Lake Tanganyika. It was first described by Belgian ichthyologist Hubert Matthes in 1959. The species name "petricola" is derived from a combination of the Latin petra, meaning stone or rock, and the Latin cola, meaning inhabitant. This refers to the rocky environment where this species is found.
Chiloglanis batesii is a species of upside-down catfish found widely in Western and Central Africa. This species grows to a length of 4.7 centimetres (1.9 in) TL.
Microsynodontis nasutus 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.
Pareutropius debauwi is a species that belong to the Order Actinopterygii, ray-finned fishes, and can be placed in the Schilbeidae family, Schilbid catfishes. This family includes 9 genera and 46 species. The common name for Pareutropius debauwi is the African glass catfish.
Chiloglanis frodobagginsi is a species of catfish native to West Africa, in particularly the upper Niger River. First described in 2023, it was initially mistaken for its sister species, Chiloglanis micropogon.
Chiloglanis fortuitus is a species of catfish native to West Africa, specifically rivers in Liberia. It was first described in 2023, alongside another species of Chiloglanis, Chiloglanis frodobagginsi.
