Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) >
Siluriformes (Catfish) >
Ictaluridae (North American freshwater catfishes)
Etymology: Ameiurus: Greek, a = without + Greek, meiouros, -os, -on = without tail (Ref. 45335); natalis: Ameiurus (Greek)=privative curtailed (referring to the caudal fin lacking a notch); natalis (Latin)=having large buttocks (Ref. 79012).
Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal; depth range 10 - ? m. Temperate; 5°C - 15°C (Ref. 13614), preferred ?; 42°N - 19°N
North America: Atlantic and Gulf slope drainages from New York to northern Mexico, and St. Lawrence-Great Lakes and Mississippi river basins from southern Quebec west to central North Dakota, and south to the Gulf. At least one country reports adverse ecological impact after introduction.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 60.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 27549); common length : 22.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 12193); max. published weight: 1.9 kg (Ref. 4699); max. reported age: 4 years (Ref. 72462)
Pools, backwaters, and sluggish current over soft substrate in creeks and small to large rivers; oxbows, ponds, and impoundments (Ref. 5723, 10294). Feeds on variety of insects and other bottom dwelling organisms such as mollusks and crustaceans (Ref. 27549).
Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr, 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 432 p. (Ref. 5723)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 109396)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Potential pest (Ref. 13686)
Human uses
Gamefish: yes
Tools
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Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 0.5078 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01023 (0.00587 - 0.01783), b=3.10 (2.94 - 3.26), based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Trophic Level (Ref.
69278): 3.3 ±0.46 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
69278): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tmax=4; Fec=2,000).
Prior r = 0.67, 2 SD range = 0.3 - 1.49, log(r) = -0.4, SD log(r) = 0.4, Based on: 1 tgen, 1 tmax, 1 Fec records
Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate to high vulnerability (48 of 100) .
