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Arius africanus

(African Sea Catfish, African Sea Catfish, Marine Catfish, Marine Catfish)

Overview

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Family : Sea catfishes; Mostly found in freshwater . Inhabits also estuaries (Ref. 5213). Feeds mainly on invertebrates and small fishes .

Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Danish:

Afrikansk Havmalle

Common Names in English:

African Sailfin Flyingfish, African Sea Catfish, Marine Catfish

Common Names in French:

Mâchoiron Africain

Common Names in Malay:

Duri, Pulutan, Utek

Common Names in Mandarin Chinese:

非洲海鯰

Common Names in Portuguese:

Cangala Africana

Common Names in Spanish:

Bagre, Bagre Africano

Common Names in Swahili:

Fumi, Hongwe

Description

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Family Ariidae

Chiefly marine ; occasionally freshwater . Distribution: tropical and subtropical waters. Forked caudal fin . Adipose fin present. Barbels usually 3 pairs, rarely 2 pairs. Nasal barbels absent. Bony plates present on head and near dorsal fin. A leading spine in both pectoral and dorsal fins. Many species enter freshwater and some are restricted to freshwater. Normally the male carries the relatively large eggs in its mouth until hatching .The family Ariidae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes ) and the Order Siluriformes. It contains 14 genera and 120 species. It may be found in Marine, Brackish , and Freshwater environments and is primarily Marine. Members of this family are not used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are bearers. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is carangiform . Compared with other fish, the activity level of this family tends to be normal. Members of this family have been dated back to the lower Eocene epoch of the Tertiary period. This family may be found from 42° n to 40° s and 122° w to 154° e. Etymology of this family name : Perhaps from Greek, ari = particle with the meaning of strength, power, but it is need confirmation

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 342 meters (0 to 1,122 feet).Mean = -397.200 meters (-1,303.150 feet), Standard Deviation = 707.270 based on 5 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre.

Biome: Fresh water , brackish water. Benthopelagic.

Taxonomy

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Ambiguous Synonyms

  1. Arius falcarius (non Richardson, 1845)
  2. Arius madagascariensis Vaillant, 1894

Unambiguous Synonyms

  1. Arius falcarius subsp. africanus Günther, 1867
  2. Tachysurus africanus (Günther, 1867)

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Group expert : Ferraris Jr. C.J., Data last modified by FishBase 02-Aug-1995

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Arius

There are approximately 135 species in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

A. acutirostris · A. africanus (African Sea Catfish) · A. arafurensis · A. arenarius (Sand Catfish) · A. argenteus · A. argyropleuron (Longsnouted Catfish) · A. arius (Hamilton's Catfish) · A. armiger (Threadfin Catfish) · A. augustus (Short Barbelled Catfish) · Cinetodus froggatti · A. berneyi (Berney's Catfish) · A. bilineatus (Bronze Catfish) · A. bleekeri (Bleeker's Catfish) · A. bonillai · A. brevirostris · A. brunellii · A. burmanicus · A. caelatus (Engraved Cat-Fish) · A. carinatus (Comb-Spined Catfish) · A. coatesi (Coates' Catfish) · A. cookei · A. cous · A. crassilabris (Thick-Lipped Catfish) · A. crossocheilos (Marine Catfish) · A. danielsi (Daniel's Catfish) · A. dioctes · A. dispar (Sea Catfish) · A. doriae · A. dussumieri (Blacktip Sea Catfish) · A. egertoni · A. equestris · A. maculatus · A. falcarius africanus · A. festinus · Cathorops spixii · A. furthii · A. gagora (Gagora Catfish) · A. gagorides · A. gagoroides · A. latiscutatus · A. latiscutatus · A. gigas (Ewe) · A. goniaspis · A. graeffei (Blue Catfish) · A. grandicassisand · A. hainesi · A. hardenbergi · A. harmandi (Harmand's Catfish) · A. herzbergi · A. parkii · A. heudelotii (Marine Catfish) · A. insidiator · A. intermedius · A. jella (Blackfin Sea Catfish) · A. labiatus · A. laticeps · A. latirostris (Broad-Snouted Catfish) · A. latiscutatus (Marine Catfsish) · A. argyropleuron · A. leiotetocephalus · A. lelotetacephalus · A. leptaspis (Catfish) · A. leptonotacanthus (Smoothspined Catfish) · A. liropus · A. macracanthus · A. macrocephalus (Large-Scaled Catfish) · A. macronotacanthus · A. macrorhynchus (Sharp-Nosed Catfish) · A. maculatus (Giant Cat-Fish) · A. madagascariensis (Madagascar Sea Catfish) · A. magatensis · A. malabaricus · A. manillensis (Sea Catfish) · A. mastersi (Catfish) · A. melanochir · Cathorops fuerthii · A. microcephalus (Squirrelheaded Catfish) · Diplomystes chilensis · A. midgleyi (Shovel-Nosed Catfish) · A. militaris · A. nalla · A. nella (Smooth-Headed Catfish) · A. nenga · A. neogranatensis · A. nigricans · A. nox (Comb-Gilled Catfish) · A. nuchalis · A. nudidens · A. oetik (Lowly Catfish) · A. parki · A. parkii (Guinean Sea Catfish) · A. parvipinnis · A. paucus · A. pectoralis · A. phrygiatus (Kukwari Sea Catfish) · A. pidada · A. platysoma · A. platystomus (Flatmouth Catfish) · A. polystapheodon · A. polystaphylodon (Marine Catfish)

Bibliography

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More Info

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 02, 2008:

Identifiers

Footnotes

Last Revised: 2008-08-21