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.
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 Ariidae or ariid catfish are a family of catfish that mainly live in marine waters with many freshwater and brackish water species. They are found worldwide in tropical to warm temperate zones. The family includes about 143 species.
Glyptothorax is a genus of catfishes order Siluriformes of the family Sisoridae. It is the most species-rich and widely distributed genus in the family with new species being discovered on a regular basis. These species are distributed in the Black Sea basin, northern Turkey, south and east to the Yangtze River drainage in China and south throughout Indo-China to Java, Indonesia. They are found in Asia Minor and southwards to Southeast Asia. The genus is very diverse in the Indian subcontinent. Southeast Asian species tend to have restricted distributions.
Bagrichthys is a genus of bagrid catfishes.
Pseudomystus is a genus of catfishes of the family Bagridae.
Cathorops is a genus of catfishes in the family Ariidae found in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. These species are found in the eastern and western Central and South America in brackish and freshwater habitats. This genus is a strongly supported clade of this family. It consists of a natural group in which the monophyly is well-defined by morphological and molecular evidence and the genus probably includes several unrecognized species from both American coasts.
Ictalurus is a genus of North American freshwater catfishes. It includes the well-known channel catfish and blue catfish.
Amphiarius is a genus of sea catfishes of the family Ariidae. It includes two species, the Kukwari sea catfish, A. phrygiatus, and the softhead sea catfish, A. rugispinis.
Arius is a genus of catfishes of the family Ariidae. The genus Arius is distributed in brackish and fresh waters of Eastern Africa and south to Southeast Asia.
Bagre is a genus of sea catfishes found along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the Americas from southern North America to northern South America. Currently, four species are described:
Ariopsis is a genus of sea catfishes found along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the Americas. The genus has been merged with Sciades by some authorities.
Hexanematichthys is a genus of sea catfishes consisting of three species. Two species occur in the coastal waters in the region of South Asia to Australasia and the third, H. henni, is found in fresh waters in tropical South America.
Notarius is a genus of fish in the family Ariidae found in the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean.
Plicofollis is a genus of sea catfishes found along the coasts of the Indian Ocean from Africa to Australasia with some species ranging up into the Philippines. They occur in marine, brackish and fresh waters. There are currently eight described species in this genus.
Sciades is a genus of sea catfishes mostly found along the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea coasts of Central and South America. One species, S. dowii, occurs on the Pacific side from Panama to Ecuador, another, S. paucus, is a freshwater form found in Australia, while S. sona is a widespread species found along the Indian Ocean coasts of South Asia east into the Pacific to Polynesia. The genus Ariopsis has been merged with Sciades by some authorities.
Patricia J. Kailola is a noted ichthyologist. Her primary focus is in tropical Indo-Pacific fishes. She is an Australian Museum Research Associate. Among her numerous publications are listed several books covering tropical fish. She also has written texts on catfish. As of April 2006, she was working on a textbook on Western Indian Ocean fishes. She has assisted the Australian Museum in confirmation of species identification among their collection. Worldcat.org lists 27 works in 57 publications in 1 language and 603 library holdings.
The armoured sea catfish is a species of catfish in the family Ariidae. It was described by Pieter Bleeker in 1858, originally under the genus Cephalocassis. It is known from freshwater rivers in Thailand and Indonesia. It reaches a maximum total length of 50 cm (20 in). Its diet consists of finfish and benthic invertebrates.
Ictalurid herpesvirus 1 (IcHV-1) is a species of virus in the genus Ictalurivirus, family Alloherpesviridae, and order Herpesvirales. It causes disease in channel catfish and blue catfish, and can cause significant economic loss in catfish farms. The disease is endemic in the USA and there are reports of the virus in Honduras and Russia.
