| Clarias gariepinus | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Clariidae |
| Genus: | Clarias |
| Species: | C. gariepinus |
| Binomial name | |
| Clarias gariepinus Burchell, 1822 | |
| Synonyms | |
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Clarias gariepinus or African sharptooth catfish is a species of catfish of the family Clariidae, the airbreathing catfishes.
They are found throughout Africa and the Middle East, and live in freshwater lakes, rivers, and swamps, as well as human-made habitats, such as oxidation ponds or even urban sewage systems.
The African sharptooth catfish was introduced all over the world in the early 1980s for aquaculture purposes, so is found in countries far outside its natural habitat, such as Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India. In countries where native species of Clarias occur, such as Indonesia, the sharptooth catfish may be distinguished; In Indonesia, it is referred to as lele dumbo. [2]
The African sharptooth catfish is a large, eel-like fish, usually of dark gray or black coloration on the back, fading to a white belly. In Africa, this catfish has been reported as being second in size only to the vundu of the Zambesian waters, [3] although FishBase suggests the African sharptooth catfish surpasses that species in both maximum length and weight. [4] [5]
C. gariepinus has an average adult length of 1–1.5 m (3 ft 3 in – 4 ft 11 in).[ citation needed ] It reaches a maximum length of 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) TL and can weigh up to 60 kg (130 lb). [4] These fish have slender bodies, flat bony heads, notably flatter than in the genus Silurus , and broad, terminal mouths with four pairs of barbels. They also have large accessory breathing organs composed of modified gill arches. Also, only the pectoral fins have spines. [3]
It is a nocturnal fish like many catfish. It feeds on living, as well as dead, animal matter (such as insects, plankton, snails, crabs, shrimp, other invertebrates, birds, reptiles, amphibians, small mammals, other fishes, and eggs) and plant matter such as fruit and seeds. [6] Because of its wide mouth, it is able to swallow relatively large prey whole. It has been known to take large waterbirds such as the common moorhen. [7] It is also able to crawl on dry ground to escape drying pools. Further, it is able to survive in shallow mud for long periods of time, between rainy seasons.
African catfish sometimes produce loud croaking sounds, not unlike the voice of the crow.
Spawning mostly takes place at night in the shallow, inundated areas of the rivers, lakes and streams. Courtship is preceded by highly aggressive encounters between males. Courtship and mating takes place in shallow waters between isolated pairs of males and females. The male lies in a U-shape curved around the head of the female, held for several seconds. A batch of milt and eggs is released followed by a vigorous swish of the female's tail to distribute the eggs over a wide area. The pair usually rests after mating (from seconds up to several minutes) and then resumes mating.
Parental care for ensuring the survival of the catfish offspring is absent except by the careful choice of a suitable site. Development of eggs and larvae is rapid, and the larvae are capable of swimming within 48–72 hours after fertilization.
The rearing of the African sharptooth catfish in Africa started in the early 1970s in Central and Western Africa, as it was realized to be a very suitable species for aquaculture, as:
Clarias gariepinus could be easily crossed with Heterobranchus longifillis to get the so-called hybrid Hetero-clarias. [8] This cross has advantages over C. gariepinus:
A major disadvantage of the Hetero-clarias hybrid, though, is its susceptibility to stress.
Allegedly, other hybrids have been supposedly produced, such as one with C. fuscus , exported to Indonesia from Taiwan as Lele Dumbo, a much higher-yielding variety than the local C. batrachus , despite the truth of such hybridization being rather invalidable. [9]
C. gariepinus may host several species of digeneans, in addition to other endo- and ectoparasites. [10]
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.
Airbreathing catfish comprise the family Clariidae of the order Siluriformes. Sixteen genera and about 117 species of clariid fishes are described; all are freshwater species. Other groups of catfish also breathe air, such as the Callichthyidae and Loricariidae.
The walking catfish 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 truly walk as most bipeds or quadrupeds do, it can use its pectoral fins to keep it upright as it makes a wiggling motion with snakelike movements to traverse land. This fish normally lives in slow-moving and often stagnant waters in ponds, swamps, streams, and rivers, as well as in flooded rice paddies, or temporary pools that may dry up. When this happens, its "walking" skill allows the fish to move to other aquatic environments. Considerable taxonomic confusion surrounds this species and it has frequently been confused with other close relatives. One main distinction between the walking catfish and the native North American ictalurid catfish with which it sometimes is confused, is that the walking catfish lacks an adipose fin. It can survive 18 hours out of water.
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 cave catfish is a critically endangered species of airbreathing catfish. This cavefish is only known to live in the Aigamas cave, Otjozondjupa region, Namibia. It has also been reported from the nearby Dragon's Breath Cave. The golden cave catfish lack pigmentation and are up to 16.1 cm in standard length. They have very small eyes that are covered with skin, and are probably effectively blind. They feed on detritus and invertebrates that fall into the lake in which they live. The population is estimated at 200–400 individuals. Little is known about its reproduction, and attempts to breed it in captivity have failed. The population is threatened by chance events and water extraction from the cave lake, which has resulted in a drop of the water level.
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 species of shark such as the sawshark. Barbels house the taste buds of such fish and are used to search for food in murky water.
Barbel may refer to:
Catfish are easy to farm in warm climates, leading to inexpensive and safe food at local grocers. Catfish raised in inland tanks or channels are considered safe for the environment, since their waste and disease should be contained and not spread to the wild.
The sharptooth houndshark or spotted gully shark is a species of houndshark in the family Triakidae found in shallow inshore waters from southern Angola to South Africa. Favoring sandy areas near rocky reefs and gullies, it is an active-swimming species that usually stays close to the bottom. This robust shark reaches 1.7 m (5.6 ft) in length and has characteristically large, rounded fins; the pectoral fins in particular are broad and sickle-shaped in adults. It also has a short, blunt snout and long furrows around its mouth. This species is gray or bronze in color above, with variable amounts of black spotting.
The Mozambique tilapia is an oreochromine cichlid fish native to southeastern Africa. Dull colored, the Mozambique tilapia often lives up to a decade in its native habitats. It is a popular fish for aquaculture. Due to human introductions, it is now found in many tropical and subtropical habitats around the globe, where it can become an invasive species because of its robust nature. These same features make it a good species for aquaculture because it readily adapts to new situations. It is known as black tilapia in Colombia and as blue kurper in South Africa.
The Cape whitefish or Berg-breede River whitefish is a ray-finned fish species in the family Cyprinidae. It was formerly placed with the South African redfins in Pseudobarbus. It is tetraploid. Its closest living relative is the sawfin.
The broadhead catfish is an economically important air-breathing catfish that is a native of Southeast Asia. The fish is farmed in ponds for use in human consumption in countries such as Thailand and the Philippines. However, native populations now face extinction due to man-made activities and genetic introgression due to interbreeding with escaped aquaculture hybrids.
Klipdrif Dam is an earth-fill type dam located on the Loopspruit and Enselspruit near Potchefstroom, North West, South Africa. The river flowing out the dam is the Loopspruit. It was established in 1990 and its primary purpose is to serve for irrigation. The hazard potential of the dam has been ranked significant (2).
Silurus asotus, commonly called the Japanese common catfish, Amur catfish, Far Eastern catfish, and Chinese catfish, is a catfish species belonging to the Siluridae family. It lives in widespread distribution in freshwater habitats across East Asia and Japan. As a freshwater species, it can be found only in the catchments of rivers, ponds, and lakes located in China, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, Taiwan, and the Russian Amur Basin. This species of catfish is carnivorous and has a high aquaculture.
The vundu is a species of large airbreathing catfish found widely in rivers and other freshwater habitats of sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the Nile. It is also called the sampa, cur, lenda, or certa.
Heterobranchus boulengeri is a species of airbreathing catfish found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is found in Lake Mweru, the Lukonzolwa River and the upper Congo River.
Opisthorchiidae is a family of digenean trematodes. Opisthorchiidae have cosmopolitan distribution.
Clarias brachysoma is a species of fish in the family Clariidae. It is endemic to Sri Lanka. Its natural habitats are rain forest streams and lowland rivers. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Lake Victoria supports Africa's largest inland fishery, with the majority of present catch being the invasive Nile perch, introduced to the Lake in the 1950s. Prior to the introduction of Nile perch as well as Nile tilapia, the fish community was very different and consisted mainly of 'Ngege' and Victoria tilapia as well as vast numbers of Haplochromis species. Fish communities in the first half of the 20th century are known primarily from a unique fisheries survey conducted in 1927-1928 by the Colonial Office.
Clarias lamottei is a supposed species of clariid from the Ivory Coast. It has been doubted to be a natural intergeneric hybrid by Teugels, between Clarias gariepinus and Heterobranchus longifilis, through comparisons with three other Clarias and one other Heterobranchus species. Teugels suspects the striking morphological similarities between C. lamottei and extant aquaculture hybrids between the African sharptooth catfish and vundu, of which both have overlapping distribution. Despite this, IUCN evaluations have been made through the observation of the holotype habitat around the Nzi river.
| Authority control databases: National |
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