Catfish
Catfish
Fossil range: Late Cretaceous - Present
Eel-tail catfish
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
osteichthyes
Superorder: Ostariophysi
Order:
Siluriformes
Families
Akysidae
Amblycipitidae
Amphiliidae
Anchariidae
Andinichthyidae †
Ariidae
Aspredinidae
Astroblepidae
Auchenipteridae
Austroglanididae
Bagridae
Callichthyidae
Cetopsidae
Chacidae
Clariidae
Claroteidae
Cranoglanididae
Diplomystidae
Doradidae
Erethistidae
Heptapteridae
Hypsidoridae †
Ictaluridae
Lacantuniidae
Loricariidae
Malapteruridae
Mochokidae
Nematogenyiidae
Pangasiidae
Pimelodidae
Plotosidae
Pseudopimelodidae
Schilbeidae
Scoloplacidae
Siluridae
Sisoridae
Trichomycteridae
incertae sedis
Conorhynchos
Horabagrus
Phreatobius
Catfish (order Siluriformes) are a very di-
verse group of bony fish. Named for their
prominent barbels, which resemble a cat’s
whiskers (though not prominent in all mem-
bers of this order), catfish range in size and
behavior from the heaviest, the Mekong giant
catfish from Southeast Asia and the longest,
the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores
(species that eat dead material on the bot-
tom), and even to a tiny parasitic species
commonly called the candiru, Vandellia cir-
rhosa. There are armour-plated types and
also naked types, neither having scales. Des-
pite their common name, not all catfish have
prominent barbels; what defines a fish as be-
ing in the order Siluriformes are in fact cer-
tain features of the skull and swimbladder.
Catfish are of considerable commercial im-
portance; many of the larger species are
farmed or fished for food. Many of the smal-
ler species, particularly the genus Corydoras,
are important in the aquarium hobby.
Taxonomy
The catfishes are a monophyletic group. This
is supported by molecular evidence.[1]
Catfish belong to a superorder called the
Ostariophysi, which also includes the Cyprini-
formes, Characiformes, Gonorynchiformes
and Gymnotiformes, a superorder character-
ized by the Weberian apparatus. Some place
Gymnotiformes as a sub-order of Silu