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Ameiurus catus (Linnaeus, 1758)

White catfish
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Ameiurus catus
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United States (contiguous states) country information

Common names: Catfish, White catfish
Occurrence: native
Salinity: freshwater
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: gamefish: yes;
Comments: Chesapeake Bay: common to abundant in all tributaries (Ref. 27549). Observed to be very common in the brackish waters of Lower Hudson River (Michael Mcguigan, pers.comm. 09/15). Also Ref. 10294.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
National Fisheries Authority: http://www.nmfs.gov
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea and W.B. Scott, 1980
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Siluriformes (Catfishes) > Ictaluridae (North American freshwater catfishes)
Etymology: Ameiurus: Greek, a = without + Greek, meiouros, -os, -on = without tail (Ref. 45335);  catus: catus, meaning cat (Ref. 10294).
  More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; brackish; demersal; potamodromous (Ref. 51243).   Subtropical; 43°N - 24°N, 89°W - 71°W

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

North America: Rivers of the Atlantic coastal states of USA from Florida to New York.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 95.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 40637); common length : 30.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 12193); max. published weight: 9.8 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 14 years (Ref. 72508)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Sluggish, mud-bottomed pools, open channels, and backwaters of small to large rivers; also in lakes and impoundments. Feeds on wide variety of fishes, insects and crustaceans (Ref. 27549).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Hardman, M. and L.M. Page, 2003. Phylogenetic relationships among bullhead catfishes of the genus Ameiurus (Siluriformes: Ictaluridae). Copeia 2003(1):20-33. (Ref. 54507)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 14 October 2011

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless




Human uses

Gamefish: yes
FAO(Publication : search) | FishSource |

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Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5078   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00776 (0.00450 - 0.01340), b=3.09 (2.93 - 3.25), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.2   ±0.45 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tm=3-4; tmax=14; Fec=1,000-4,000).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (43 of 100).