The Ariidae or ariid catfish are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

that mainly live in

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military ...

waters with many

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does incl ...

and

brackish water Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

species. They are found worldwide in tropical to warm temperate zones. The family includes about 143 species.

Taxonomy

The relationships of this family are not yet clear. Two of the

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

, '' Gogo'' and '' Ancharius'', have been moved to a separate family called Anchariidae. The Ariidae are divided into three subfamilies: '' Galeichthys'' is the only genus classified in the subfamily Galeichthyinae and similarly '' Bagre'' is the only genus in the subfamily Bagreinae, while the rest of the genera are classified in the subfamily Ariinae. Previously, the family Ariidae has been grouped in the superfamily Doradoidea, but then it was moved into Bagroidea (along with Austroglanididae,

Claroteidae The Claroteidae are a family of catfish (order Siluriformes) found in Africa. This family was separated from Bagridae. However, the monophyly of the family is sometimes contested. The 12 genera contain 86 known species of claroteids in two subfa ...

Schilbeidae Schilbeidae is a family of catfishes native to Africa and Asia. These fish tend to swim in open water. Schilbid catfishes usually have dorsal fins with a short base and a spine, but ''Parailia'' lack a dorsal fin altogether. Most species also p ...

, Pangasiidae, Bagridae, Malapteruridae, and Pimelodidae. It has also been classified in a superfamily Arioidea containing Ariidae and Anchariidae.

Distribution and habitat

Ariids are found worldwide in tropical to warm temperate zones. Ariids are unusual among catfish in that they live primarily in the

sea The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

; the majority of catfish families are strictly

and have little tolerance for

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estua ...

or marine conditions. Ariid catfish are found in shallow temperate and tropical seas around the coastlines of

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. Many other species of catfish are also present in freshwater habitats; some species only occur in freshwater. In North and South America, about 43 species extend into brackish water or are found exclusively in fresh water.

Appearance and anatomy

Ariid catfish have a deeply forked caudal fin. Usually, three pairs of barbels are present. They possess some bony plates on their heads and near their dorsal fins. At least some species have venomous spines in their dorsal and pectoral fins.

Skull

The gafftopsail catfish is sometimes called the "crucifix catfish" because its dried skull bones resembles a cruciform man. This is an example of

pareidolia Pareidolia (; ) is the tendency for perception to impose a meaningful interpretation on a nebulous stimulus, usually visual, so that one sees an object, pattern, or meaning where there is none. Common examples are perceived images of animals, ...

Ecology

Beyond their maritime habitat, ariid catfish have a number of unique adaptations that set them apart from other catfish. Most, if not all species, are

mouthbrooding Mouthbrooding, also known as oral incubation and buccal incubation, is the care given by some groups of animals to their offspring by holding them in the mouth of the parent for extended periods of time. Although mouthbrooding is performed by a va ...

fish, with the male carrying a small clutch of a few dozen, tiny eggs for about two months until the eggs hatch and the fry become free-swimming.

Relationship to humans

One well-known ariid catfish is the

hardhead catfish The hardhead catfish (''Ariopsis felis'') is a species of sea catfish from the northwest Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, and similar to the gafftopsail catfish (''Bagre marinus''). It is one of four species in the genus '' Ariopsis''. The common na ...

, ''Ariopsis felis'', abundant along the Western Atlantic coast from Massachusetts to Mexico. Although hardhead catfish reach a weight of about and are edible, they have a mixed reputation as

game fish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish pursued by recreational anglers, and can be freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, or released after capture. Some game fish are also targeted commercial ...

and are often considered nuisance bait stealers. A less-abundant species, more highly regarded as a game and food fish, is the gafftopsail catfish, ''Bagre marinus''. The range of the gafftop extends further south, to Venezuela. The smaller ariid catfishes have minor value as public and home

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''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. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

fish. In 1972, the Shedd Aquarium in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

received worldwide acclaim for the first successful breeding of ''Ariopsis felis'' in captivity, a feat they have repeated several times since. The

Colombian shark catfish The Tete sea catfish (''Ariopsis seemanni'') or Colombian shark catfish is a species of sea catfish in the family Ariidae, native to Pacific-draining rivers and estuaries in Central and South America. In the aquarium Tete sea catfishes are occ ...

''Sciades seemanni'' (until recently ''Hexanematichthys seemanni'') is a fairly popular aquarium fish, though it has been traded under a variety of spurious names, such as ''Arius jordani'' and ''Arius seemani''. Less commonly traded aquarium species include ''Arius berneyi'' and ''Arius graeffei''.The catfish family Ariidae
/ref>

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q194305 Catfish families Taxa named by Lev Berg