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

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; freshwater; brackish; demersal. Tropical, preferred ?

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

Western Indian Ocean: Kosi Bay to Knysna in South Africa. Possibly extending to Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 51.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3879)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 4; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 88 - 109. Preserved specimens brown or grey above, lighter brown or whitish below; 2 faint, longitudinal stripes sometimes present on body but not extending onto head (Ref. 3977).

Found in estuaries and along open coasts. Enters freshwaters of South Africa (Ref. 3879). Feeds mainly on benthic invertebrates (Ref. 3478).

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. 4537)

Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes

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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=0.00457 (0.00197 - 0.01058), b=3.07 (2.86 - 3.28), based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278): 3.5 ±0.37 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 (49 of 100) .

Price category (Ref. 80766): Low.

Plotosus nkunga Gomon & Taylor, 1982