Clarias anguillaris (Linnaeus, 1758)

Mudfish

Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Classification	Actinopterygii \| Siluriformes \| Clariidae
Synonyms	Silurus anguillaris, Clarias budgetti, Clarias hasselquistii, ... more
Common names	Catfish, Hana noma, Niilinkonnamonni, ... more

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Picture by Teugels, G.

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Main reference

Teugels, G.G. 1986. (Ref. 248)
Other references | Biblio | Coordinator | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 100.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3799); max. published weight: 7,000 g (Ref. 3799)

Environment

Demersal; potamodromous (Ref. 51243); freshwater; depth range 1 - ? m (Ref. 248)

Climate / Range

Tropical; 32°N - 5°N

Africa: lower and middle Nile; Chad system including the Logone and the Shari rivers; Niger and Benoue river systems; coastal rivers of Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire; Gambia and lower Senegal rivers; Volta system; relict populations occur in Mauritania and southern Algeria. Trade restricted in FRG.
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 60 - 82; Anal soft rays: 42 - 61. The head is oval-shaped to rectangular in dorsal outline; the snout is broadly rounded (Ref. 248). The eyes have a rather lateral position and together with the relatively broad head, make for a relatively large interorbital distance (Ref. 248). The number of gill rakers on the first branchial arch is subject to much variation, between 16 and 40; it rarely exceeds 40 (Ref. 248). The dorsal fin base is situated close to the occipital process; the dorsal fin always terminates before the caudal fin base and the distance between both is small (Ref. 248). The anal fin originates closer to the caudal fin base than to the tip of the snout; although nearly reaching the caudal fin, it is never confluent with it (Ref. 248). The pelvic fin base is slightly closer to the tip of the snout than to the caudal fin base; it reaches the base of the first anal fin rays (Ref. 248). The pectoral fin extand from the operculum to the base of the first dorsal fin rays; the pectoral spine is slightly curved and robust, being serrated only on its outer side; the number of serrations increases with increasing standard length (Ref. 248). The lateral line appears as a small, white line running from the posterior end of the head to the middle of the caudal fin base; the openings of the secondary sensory canals are clearly marked, showing a regular pattern (Ref. 248). Two colour patterns can be discerned: the uniform and the marbled pattern (Ref. 248). In the uniform pattern, the specimens are uniform dark-brown, blackish brown or reddish brown on their dorsal side and on the flanks as well as on the upper surface of the paired fins; the belly and the lower surface of the paired fins are light brownish to beige (Ref. 248). In the marbled pattern, the back and the flanks show irregular dark blotches on a light coloured background; the belly and the ventral parts of the paired fins are whitish (Ref. 248). Most specimens have pigmentation bands on both sides of the lower surface of the head (Ref. 248). A series of light and dark bands may occur on the caudal fin; the proximal third of the fin is lightly coloured, while the rest is darkly coloured; occasionally, irregular black spots may occur on the caudal fin and on the caudal peduncle (Ref. 248).

Very common in inundated areas. Bury themselves in the mud when the pools are drying up. Feeds mainly on fish and mollusks; also crustaceans, diatoms, detritus and bottom organisms (Ref. 248)


IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 57073)	Threat to humans
Not Evaluated	Harmless

Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; aquaculture: commercial


More information
Countries FAO areas Ecosystems Occurrences Introductions Ecology Diet Food items Food consumption Ration	Common names Synonyms Metabolism Predators Ecotoxicology Reproduction Maturity Spawning Eggs Egg development	Age/Size Growth Length-weight Length-length Length-frequencies Morphometrics Morphology Larvae Larval dynamics Recruitment	Other references Biblio Aquaculture Aquaculture profile Strains Genetics Allele frequencies Heritability Diseases Processing	Collaborators Pictures Stamps Sounds Ciguatera Speed Swim. type Gill area Otoliths Brains Vision

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Internet sources

Estimation of some characteristics with mathematical models

Resilience (Ref. 69278)

Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Assuming tm=2-4)


Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)	Price category (Ref. 80766)
Moderate to high vulnerability (54 of 100)	Not marketed/unknown

Entered by Luna, Susan M.

Modified by Sampang, Arlene G.

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Page last modified by : elaxamana, 15 July 2009

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