The Purus River is a tributary of the Amazon River in South America. Its drainage basin is 371,042 km2 (143,260 sq mi), and the mean annual discharge is 11,207 m3/s (395,800 cu ft/s). The river shares its name with the Alto Purús National Park and the Purús Province, one of the four provinces of Peru in the Ucayali Region.
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.
Callichthyidae is a family of catfishes, called armored catfishes due to the two rows of bony plates along the lengths of their bodies. It contains some of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish, such as many species in the genus Corydoras.
The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about 7,000,000 km2 (2,700,000 sq mi), or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela, as well as the territory of French Guiana.
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.
The Thamirabarani or Tamraparni or Porunai is a perennial river that originates from the Agastyarkoodam peak of Pothigai hills of the Western Ghats, above Papanasam in the Ambasamudram taluk. It flows through Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts of the Tamil Nadu state of southern India into the Gulf of Mannar. It was called the Tamraparni River in the pre-classical period, a name it lent to the island of Sri Lanka. The old Tamil name of the river is Porunai. From the source to sea, the river is about 128 kilometres (80 mi) long and is the only perennial river in Tamil Nadu. This river flows towards north direction initially. However, it changes to east direction later.
Trichomycteridae is a family of catfishes commonly known as pencil catfishes or parasitic catfishes. This family includes the candiru fish, feared by some people for its alleged habit of entering into the urethra of humans. They are one of the few parasitic chordates. Another species is the life monsefuano which was important to the Moche culture and still an important part of Peruvian cuisine.
Brachyplatystoma is a genus of catfish from the family Pimelodidae. As the occasionally used common name goliath catfishes indicates, this genus includes some of the largest species of catfish, including the piraíba, B. filamentosum, which reaches up to the region of 3.6 metres (12 ft) in length. Brachyplatystoma are found in the Amazon and Orinoco basins, and other tropical freshwater and brackish habitats in South America. Some species are migratory. These fish are important as food fish and, to some extent, aquarium fish.
Hemibagrus wyckioides, the Asian redtail catfish, is a species of catfish of the family Bagridae.
Tridensimilis is a genus of pencil catfishes native to South America.
Bagarius is an Asian genus of catfishes of the family Sisoridae. It includes five to six extant species and potentially one extinct fossil species, B. gigas.
Plotosus is a genus of eeltail catfishes native to the Indian Ocean, the western Pacific Ocean and New Guinea.
Amphilius is a genus of catfishes of the family Amphiliidae.
Zaireichthys brevis is a species of loach catfish endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo where it is found in the Congo River Basin. It reaches a length of 3.4 cm.
Trachydoras brevis is a species of thorny catfish found in the Negro and Essequibo River basins of Guyana and Brazil. This species grows to a length of 9.3 centimetres (3.7 in) SL.
Mochokus brevis is a species of upside-down catfish native to the Nile and Chad Basins. This species grows to a length of 3.1 centimetres (1.2 in) TL.
Delturus is a genus of armored catfishes native to rivers in Southeast and Northeast Brazil.
Peckoltia brevis is a small species of Peckoltia belonging to the catfish family Loricariidae. Peckoltia brevis possesses the L-number L205.
Amphilius brevis is a species of catfish in the genus Amphilius. It lives in the middle and upper Congo River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its length reaches 8.4 cm.
Hypostomus brevis is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it is known from the Paraná River basin in Brazil. The species reaches 7.4 cm SL and is believed to be a facultative air-breather.
