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Plotosus limbatus  Valenciennes, 1840

Darkfin eel catfish
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Image of Plotosus limbatus (Darkfin eel catfish)
Plotosus limbatus
Picture by Randall, J.E.

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, preferred ?

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | 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).

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)

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).

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

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. (Ref. 3879)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 109396)

  Not Evaluated 

CITES (Ref. 94142)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Venomous (Ref. 30573)




Human uses

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

More information

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

Tools

E-book | Field guide | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

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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 | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805):  PD50 = 0.5020   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00912 (0.00373 - 0.02229), b=3.05 (2.84 - 3.26), based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (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 vulnerability (45 of 100) .
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Low.