Ariopsis felis  (Linnaeus, 1766)

Hardhead sea catfish
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Ariopsis felis   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Ariopsis felis (Hardhead sea catfish)
Ariopsis felis
Picture by Ng, H.H.

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

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Siluriformes (Catfish) > Ariidae (Sea catfishes)
Etymology: Ariopsis: Greek, ari = very, strength, superiority + Greek, opsis = appearance (Ref. 45335).

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; brackish; reef-associated.   Subtropical; 43°N - 18°N

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?, range 13 - ? cm
Max length : 70.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 40637); common length : 25.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3265); max. published weight: 5.5 kg (Ref. 7251)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

4 chin barbels and a longitudinal groove in a depression on midline of head.

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

Western Atlantic: Massachusetts and northern Gulf of Mexico to southern Florida in USA and Mexico.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Adults inhabit continental waters and enters estuaries. Found in turbid waters over muddy bottoms. Males incubate eggs in the mouth (Ref. 205). Commonly captured from catwalks, bridges and piers, particularly in passes and inland waterways. Edible, but generally not consumed (Ref. 7251).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Ferraris, Jr., Carl J. | Collaborators

Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray, 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)

  Not Evaluated 

Threat to humans

  Traumatogenic (Ref. 58010)




Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes
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 | ECOTOX | 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 | Zoological Record

Estimates of some properties based on empirical models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805):  PD50 = 0.5625   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00712 (-0.13649 - 0.15073), b=3.17 (3.08 - 3.26), based on LWR estimates for species & family-BS (Ref. 93245).
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278):  3.3   ±0.6 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec=55).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High vulnerability (56 of 100) .
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.