Spotted catfish (Arius maculatus)

Scientific name: Arius maculatus Thunberg, 1792

Spotted catfish (Arius maculatus)

The Spotted catfish (Arius maculatus) is a freshwater fish of the family Ariidae.

Biology

Adults occurs in inshore waters and estuaries. Feed on invertebrates and small fishes. Occasionally form schools. Males incubate eggs in the mouth. Caught mainly with set bag nets and bamboo stake traps. Marketed fresh. Air bladders are exported as isinglass used by the wine industry. Strong venomous dorsal and pectoral spines provide protection for the fish.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Arius maculatus
Family
Ariidae (Sea catfishes)
Order
Siluriformes (Catfish)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
80.0
Common length
30.0
Depth range
50–100 m (164–328 ft)
Environment
Marine; freshwater; brackish; demersal; potamodromous; depth range 50 - 100 m
Climate
Tropical
Distribution
Indo-West Pacific: off the west and east coast of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar to the Arafura Sea and the Indo-Australian Archipelago (excluding Australia). Known from the Mekong Delta.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Traumatogenic
Uses
Fisheries: commercial
Resilience
Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tmax=7)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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