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.
The flathead catfish, 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. Ranging from the lower Great Lakes region to northern Mexico, it has been widely introduced and is an invasive species in some areas. The closest living relative of the flathead catfish is the much smaller widemouth blindcat, Satan eurystomus.
Loricariidae is the largest family of catfish, 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 noted for the bony plates covering their bodies and their suckermouths. Several genera are sold as "plecos", notably the suckermouth catfish, Hypostomus plecostomus, and are popular as aquarium fish.
The channel catfish is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States, they are the most fished catfish species with around 8 million anglers targeting them per year. The popularity of channel catfish for food has contributed to the rapid expansion of aquaculture of this species in the United States. It has also been widely introduced in Europe, Asia and South America, and it is legally considered an invasive species in many countries.
The blue catfish is the largest species of North American catfish, reaching a length of 165 cm (65 in) and a weight of 68 kg (150 lb). The typical length is about 25–46 in (64–117 cm). The fish can live to 20 years. The native distribution of blue catfish is primarily in the Mississippi River drainage, including the Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Arkansas Rivers, The Des Moines River in South Central Iowa, and the Rio Grande, and south along the Gulf Coast to Belize and Guatemala. These large catfish have also been introduced in a number of reservoirs and rivers, notably the Santee Cooper lakes of Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie in South Carolina, the James River in Virginia, Powerton Lake in Pekin, Illinois, and Lake Springfield in Springfield, Illinois. This fish is also found in some lakes in Florida. The fish is considered an invasive pest in some areas, particularly the Chesapeake Bay. Blue catfish can tolerate brackish water, thus can colonize along inland waterways of coastal regions.
The Mekong giant catfish, is a large, critically endangered species of catfish in the shark catfish family (Pangasiidae), native to the Mekong basin in Southeast Asia and adjacent China. It is considered critically endangered due to accelerating habitat loss.
The Pimelodidae, commonly known as the long-whiskered catfishes, are a family of catfishes.
Basa 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 labelled in North America and Australia as "basa fish", "swai", or "bocourti". In the UK all species of Pangasius may legally be described as "river cobbler", "cobbler", "basa", "pangasius", "panga", or any of these with the addition of "catfish". In the rest of Europe, these fish are commonly marketed as "pangasius" or "panga". In Asian markets, names for basa include "Pacific dory". Other related shark catfish may occasionally be incorrectly labeled as basa fish, including P. hypophthalmus and P. pangasius.
The wels catfish, also called sheatfish, 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 introduced to Western Europe as a prized sport fish and is now found from the United Kingdom east to Kazakhstan and China and south to Greece and Turkey. It is a freshwater fish recognizable by its broad, flat head and wide mouth. Wels catfish can live for at least fifty years.
The redtail catfish, Phractocephalus hemioliopterus, is a pimelodid (long-whiskered) catfish. In Venezuela, it is known as cajaro, and in Brazil, it is known as pirarara, stemming from the Tupi language words pirá and arara. It is the only extant species of the genus Phractocephalus. This fish is common in the aquarium trade, although its massive adult size makes it unsuitable for all but the largest aquariums.
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-lb range, and almost never as large as 4 lb. It has a typical length of 8-14 in, with the largest specimen being 24 in, 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.
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.
Striped Raphael catfish is a catfish of the family Doradidae. It may also be called Southern striped Raphael, talking catfish, chocolate doradid, chocolate catfish or thorny catfish. It is native to the Amazon, Paraguay–Paraná and lower Orinoco basins in South America. This peaceful, nocturnal species is a popular aquarium fish due to its pleasant temperament and curious nature.
Pseudobagrus is a genus of bagrid catfishes that inhabit streams and rivers throughout East Asia. About half of these species occur in China.
Cryptarius is a genus of catfishes of the family Ariidae. It includes two species, C. daugeti and C. truncatus. Cryptarius species originate from brackish waters of south and southeast Asia.
East Matagorda Bay is a bay off Matagorda County on the Texas Gulf Coast, enclosed by the Matagorda Peninsula and the tidal flats at the mouth of the Colorado River. It is a minor estuary, one of a series of estuaries along the Gulf Coast of Texas, but it has no significant river sources, receiving only the runoff from the adjacent coastal watershed. Its only true opening to the Gulf of Mexico is through Brown Cedar Cut, near the north end of the peninsula. East Matagorda Bay was devastated by the 1942 Matagorda Hurricane, the most devastating hurricane of the 1942 Atlantic hurricane season.
Batrachocephalus mino, the beardless sea catfish, is the only species of catfish in the genus Batrachocephalus of the family Ariidae. This species occurs in marine and brackish waters of Bay of Bengal, and parts of the western central Pacific, in coastal waters, estuaries, and lower reaches of rivers. It is distributed from Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, to Indonesia.
Siluranodon auritus is the only species in the genus Siluranodon of the catfish family Schilbeidae.
Belodontichthys is a genus of sheatfishes native to Asia.
Cryptarius daugeti is a species of sea catfish from the Mekong River basin which inhabits large rivers. It is found in brackish and fresh waters of Cambodia and Vietnam. This species has a maximum length of 26 centimetres (10 in) TL.
