Catfish
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Wikipedia-Article "Catfish"
- For "Atlantic catfish", see seawolf.
Catfish (order Siluriformes) are a diverse group of fish. Notable for their prominent barbels, they are found in freshwater environments of all kinds, with species on every continent except Antarctica. Some species from the families Ariidae and Plotosidae are also found in marine environs.
Catfish belong to a superorder called the Ostariophysi, which also includes the Cypriniformes, Characiformes, and Gymnotiformes (although some place Gymnotiformes as a sub-order of Siluriformes). As of 2005 there are 37 catfish families, although this number is in constant flux due to taxonomic work on the order.
In June, 2005, researchers named the 37th family of catfish, Lacantuniidae, only the third new family of fish distinguished in the last 70 years (others being the coelacanth in 1938 and the megamouth shark in 1983). The new species in Lacantuniidae, Lacantunia enigmatica, was found in the Lacantun river in Chiapas, Mexico.
Catfish have no scales. All catfish, except members of Malapteruridae (electric catfish), possess a strong, hollow, bonified leading ray on their dorsal and pectoral fins, through which a stinging protein can be delivered if the fish is irritated. In members of the family Plotosidae, and of the genus Heteropneustes, this protein is so strong it may hospitalize humans unfortunate enough to receive a sting.
Catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest, the Giant Mekong Catfish (Pangasius gigas) in Southeast Asia and the longest Wels Catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores (species that eat dead material on the bottom), and even to a tiny parasitic species commonly called the candiru (Vandellia cirrhosa).
One of the largest members of the catfish-family is the European catfish Silurus glanis, which is often called wels catfish. The name comes from the german name "Wels", which means just catfish, sometimes Silurus glanis is in german also called "Waller". The wels catfish is the only native catfish species in continental Europe, there is only one futher species on Greece, the much smaller Aristotle catfish, which differs from Silurus glanis also because it has only 4 instead of 6 tentacles on its mouth. Wels catfish of five metres and weighing more than 300 kg are reported in the literature, but there are no prooves that specimens of this size ever existed, it is much more likely that they are only further examples of big-fish-stories. There are also often stories of giant wels catfish from Russia, but never with any details, pictures or other facts, so it is also very probable that this stories are also big-fish-stories. The average size is about 1,2m-1,6m, sizes of more than 2m are in general very rare. The largest specimens which were exactly measured and weighed were more than 2,5 in length and sometimes exeeded a weight of 100kg. The wels catfish was introduced to Britain, Italy, Spain, Greece and some other countries during the last century. Whereas the fish stayed in Britain smaller than in its original habitat, they really flourished in the warm lakes and big rivers of Southern Europe. The river-delta Po in Italy and the river Ebro in Spain are famous for their mass of huge wels catfish, which grow there not seldom to sizes of more than 2m. Cause of plenty of food, a lack of competitioners and species-specific parasites and diseases, and especially the wels catfish grows much faster and larger in Southern Europe than in its original habitat, but even there were never specimens recorded which were longer than 2,80m.
A very large wels catfish (Silurus glanis) was caught by Kevin Maddocks on August 6th, 1999, recorded at 202 pounds (91.62 kilograms). Tim Pruitt of Illinois caught the largest blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) in the Mississippi River on May 22nd, 2005 that weighed in at 124 pounds (56.25 kilograms). The largest flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris) ever caught was in Independence, Kansas, weighed at 123 pounds 9 ounces (56 kilograms). However, these records pale in comparision to a Giant Mekong Catfish caught in northern Thailand in May 1st, 2005 and reported to the press almost 2 months later, that weighed 646 pounds (293 kilograms). This is the largest Giant Mekong Catfish caught, but only since Thai officials started keeping records in 1981 [1]. The Giant Mekong Catfish are not well studied since they live in developing countries. It is very possible that they can grow bigger yet.
Catfish are important food fish throughout the world. Ictalurids are cultivated in North America (especially in the Deep South), while Clariids and Pangasiids are heavily cultured in Africa and Asia. There is also a large and growing ornamental fish trade, with catfish a popular component of many aquaria.
In the United States, June 25 is National Catfish Day.
Examples of catfish species:
Resources
"All Aquarium Catfish". PlanetCatfish.com.
Finding and Catching Monster Blue Catfish - An article on the science of finding and catching trophy Blue Catfish on a typical American river system.
