''Chaca'' is the only

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

in the

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

family Chacidae. These fish are commonly known as squarehead catfishes, frogmouth catfishes, or angler catfishes. These unusual fish have a sedentary lifestyle and spend much of their time motionless. The name ''Chaca'' is because, when removed from the water, they will rapidly repeat the sound "chaca". Only ''C. chaca'' makes these sounds; the other species do not.

Species

The four currently recognized species in this genus are:Ng, H.H. & Kottelat, M. (2012): Chaca serica, ''a new species of frogmouth catfish (Teleostei: Siluriformes) from southern Borneo.'' Zootaxa, 3258: 37–45. * '' Chaca bankanensis'' Bleeker, 1852 (angler catfish) * '' Chaca burmensis'' B. A. Brown &

Ferraris Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

, 1988 * '' Chaca chaca'' ( F. Hamilton, 1822) (squarehead catfish) * ''

Chaca serica Chaca may refer to: Animals * The catfish genus '' Chaca'' Places Spain * An alternative spelling of the town Jaca, Spain Literature * A character in The Emperor's New School ''The Emperor's New School'' is an American animated television seri ...

'' H. H. Ng & Kottelat, 2012

Distribution and habitat

''Chaca'' species are found in

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salt (chemistry), salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include ...

from eastern

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

. ''C. chaca'' is found in rivers, canals, and ponds of grassland, scrubland, deciduous forest, and rainforest habitats. On the other hand, ''C. bankanensis'' is only found in the rainforest, where it inhabits peat.

Appearance and anatomy

''Chaca'' catfish have elongated, broad, and flattened heads. The mouths are terminal and very wide. Three or four pairs of

barbels In fish anatomy and turtle anatomy, a barbel is a slender, whisker like sensory organ near the mouth (sometimes called whiskers or tendrils). Fish that have barbels include the catfish, the carp, the goatfish, the hagfish, the sturgeon, the z ...

are found, though if the nasal barbels are present, they are minute. These fish grow to a length of about . The dorsal fin is short and possesses strong, serrated, fin spines, which are strong enough to inflict wounds.

Ecology

These fish live in soft substrates where they bury themselves as camouflage, both for protection and to feed. They are found in slow-paced water in South Asia, particularly India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar These fish are ambush predators. They feed on prey such as small fish, including

cyprinid Cyprinidae is a Family (biology), family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family, including the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives the barb (fish), barbs and barbel (fish), barbels, among others. Cyprinidae is the ...

s and

pupfish Pupfish are a group of small killifish belonging to ten genera of the family Cyprinodontidae of ray-finned fish. Pupfish are especially noted for being found in extreme and isolated situations. They are primarily found in North America, South Am ...

es. They lie in wait, well camouflaged, in preparation for prey to swim by. Sometimes, they use their maxillary barbels (attached to the upper jaw) to lure

prey fish Forage fish, also called prey fish or bait fish, are small pelagic fish that feed on planktons (i.e. planktivores) and other small aquatic organisms (e.g. krill). They are in turn preyed upon by various predators including larger fish, seabird ...

closer to their mouths, similar to a worm jerking in the water, although this behavior is contested by some aquarists, who do not observe this behavior. When the catfish is ready to strike, the ''Chaca'' will open its large mouth rapidly, creating a vacuum that pulls in water and its prey, which may be up to half the fish's own length. These fish are also able to use this large mouths as a means of propulsion; when frightened, they will gulp a large amount of water and expel it through their gills.

In the aquarium

''Chaca'' species are occasionally available as

aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

fish. They are nocturnal and are usually inactive. A bizarre phenomenon is shown in that ''Chaca'' species appear to lower the pH of the water, so maintenance of water chemistry is necessary. These fish have been bred in captivity.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaca (Genus) Chacidae Fish of Asia Catfish genera Taxa named by John Edward Gray