Silurus aristotelis
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Aristotle's catfish (''Silurus aristotelis'') is a species of
fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...
in the family
Siluridae Siluridae is the nominate family (biology), family of catfishes in the order (biology), order Siluriformes. About 105 living species of silurids are placed in 12 or 14 genera. Although silurids occur across much of Europe and Asia, they are most ...
. It is
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to Greece, where it occurs in the
Acheloos River The Achelous (, ''Akhelôios''), also Acheloos, is a river in Epirus (region), Epirus, western Greece. It is long. It formed the boundary between Acarnania and Aetolia of antiquity. It empties into the Ionian Sea. In ancient times its spirit ...
drainage. Its natural
habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
is freshwater
lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
s. It is threatened by
habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...
. This species grows to a length of TL and is of importance to local
commercial fisheries Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often p ...
. It is known from Lake Trichonida, Lake Lysimachia and Lake Amvrakia, and was introduced to
Lake Volvi Lake Volvi ( - ''Límni Vólvi'') is located at the root of the Chalkidiki peninsula, in the Thessaloniki regional unit of Greece. It is the second largest lake in the country at length and width. Its area is 68 km² and its depth is 20 m ...
and Lake Ioannina in the 1980s. Threats may be
water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of Body of water, water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and ...
and
overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing Fish stocks, fish stock), resu ...
. Its name derives from the fact that it was first described by
Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...
in his
History of Animals ''History of Animals'' (, ''Ton peri ta zoia historion'', "Inquiries on Animals"; , "History of Animals") is one of the major texts on biology by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. It was written in sometime between the mid-fourth centur ...
.


References

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Further reading


Aristotle's catfish
explanation of its name Silurus Taxa named by Samuel Garman Fish described in 1890 Catfish of Europe Endemic fauna of Greece Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Habitats Directive species {{catfish-stub