Catfish
| Catfish | ||||||||||||
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Catfish ( Ameiurus nebulosus ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Ameiurus nebulosus | ||||||||||||
| ( Lesueur , 1819) |
The ( brown ) catfish or dwarf catfish ( Ameiurus nebulosus ) comes from North America and occupies the same ecological niche there as the European catfish in Europe. Like the catfish, it has a broad and flat head with a large mouth. This is surrounded by four pairs of barbels , which he uses for foraging. The European catfish, on the other hand, only has three pairs of barbels.
An important distinguishing feature from the native catfish is a radiationless adipose fin , which is located between the dorsal and caudal fin. In addition, with a length of around 40 to 50 centimeters and a weight of around two kilograms, the catfish is nowhere near the same size.
As a popular food fish , the catfish was also used outside of its natural range. In the United States, bare hand fishing for catfish, known as noodling , has become a sport.
Catfish have small spines on their dorsal and pectoral fin and try to match the color of their surroundings.
Web links
- Catfish on Fishbase.org (English)
- Ameiurus nebulosus inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.2. Posted by: NatureServe, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2014.