Gilded catfish | |
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de Castelnau, 1821 | |
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Napo River basin | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
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 | |
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Synonyms | |
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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]
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]
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]
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]