Plotosus limbatus  Valenciennes, 1840

Darkfin eel catfish
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Plotosus limbatus
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Siluriformes (Catfish) > Plotosidae (Eeltail catfishes)
Etymology: Plotosus: Greek, plotos = swimming (Ref. 45335).   More on author: Valenciennes.

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; freshwater; brackish; demersal; amphidromous (Ref. 51243).   Tropical

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 41.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3879); common length : 30.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 30573)

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

Western Indian Ocean: ranging from the Madras and Malabar coasts of India to the east coast of Africa. Reaches as far south as Knysna, South Africa (Ref. 3670).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occurs in estuaries and along open coasts (Ref. 30573). Juveniles form dense aggregations. Feeds on crustaceans, mollusks, and fishes (Ref. 30573). Dorsal and pelvic fins are venomous (Ref. 30573).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Taylor, W.R. and J.R. Gomon, 1986. Plotosidae. p. 160-162. In J. Daget, J.-P. Gosse and D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde (eds.) Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA). ISBN, Brussels; MRAC, Tervuren; and ORSTOM, Paris. Vol. 2.

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)

  Not Evaluated 

Threat to humans

  Venomous (Ref. 30573)




Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial
FAO(Publication : search) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | DiscoverLife | Faunafri | Fishtrace | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | PubMed | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates of some properties based on empirical models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805):  PD50 = 0.5020   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00919 (-0.18912 - 0.20751), b=3.06 (2.95 - 3.17), based on LWR estimates for species & family-BS (Ref. 93245).
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278):  3.9   ±0.63 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 69278):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate to high vulnerability (46 of 100) .
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Low.