Gilded catfish

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Gilded catfish
Zungaro zungaro.jpg
de Castelnau, 1821
Zungaro zungaro Napo.png
Napo River basin
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Siluriformes
Family: Pimelodidae
Genus: Zungaro
Species:
Z. zungaro
Binomial name
Zungaro zungaro
(Humboldt in Humboldt and Valenciennes, 1821)
Subspecies
  • Zungaro zungaro mangurus
    (Valenciennes, 1835)
  • Zungaro zungaro zungaro
    (Humboldt, 1821)
Synonyms
  • Pimelodus zungaro
    Humboldt, 1821
  • Bagrus flavicans
    Castelnau, 1855
  • Brachyplatystoma flavicans
    (Castelnau, 1855)
  • Zungaro humboldtii
    Bleeker, 1858
  • Paulicea luetkeni
    (Steindachner, 1877)

The gilded catfish, Jau catfish or dourado catfish, (Zungaro zungaro) is a South American catfish (order Siluriformes) of the family Pimelodidae. It is also known as manguruyu or black manguruyu. [2]

Contents

Taxonomy

By some sources, it is the only species of the monotypic genus Zungaro. [3] However, some sources list other species as valid, such as Zungaro jahu. [4] This species may be referred to by one of its synonyms, Brachyplatystoma flavicans. [5] This species contains two subspecies, Z. z. mangurus and Z. z. zungaro. [6]

Distribution and habitat

They are sexually mature upon reaching 10 kg (22 lb) weight. [5] This fish native to the Orinoco and Amazon basins; in the Amazon, this fish is found quite upstream, in the main bed of the big tributaries with muddy bottoms. [5]

Description

This fish reaches 140 cm (55 in) in total length, and specimens measuring 130 cm (51 in) and weighing 50 kg (110 lb) are not rare. [5] These fish are mainly piscivorous, hunt at night, and sometimes go into flood-prone areas of rivers. Some migrations in pursuit of migrating Triportheus and Anodus have been reported. The nursery ground is at the mouths of rivers. [5]

References

  1. Salvador, G.N. (2023). "Zungaro zungaro". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2023: e.T49829532A91631071. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T49829532A91631071.en . Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  2. "Common names of Zungaro zungaro". fishbase.se.
  3. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Zungaro". FishBase . May 2007 version.
  4. Ferraris, Carl J. Jr. (2007). "Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types" (PDF). Zootaxa . 1418: 1–628. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1418.1.1.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Zungaro zungaro". FishBase . February 2012 version.
  6. "Zungaro zungaro". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 26 May 2007.