''Arius'' is a

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 ...

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 ...

es (

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Siluriformes) of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Ariidae The Ariidae or ariid catfish are a family (taxonomy), family of catfish that mainly live in Marine (ocean), marine waters with many freshwater and brackish water species. They are found worldwide in tropical to warm temperate zones. The family i ...

. The genus ''Arius'' is distributed in

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 estuari ...

and

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 ...

s of

Eastern Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

and south to

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. Defining the limits so that ''Arius'' can form a natural grouping has always been a problem. The genus was never properly defined, and many species previously classified in ''Arius'' are now in other genera. Recent authors have recognized this genus as non monophyetic, rejecting that the genus is a natural grouping. Two unnamed groups are distinguished by accessory tooth plates, which are either very elongated and bearing molar-like teeth, or are oval shaped or subtriangular and bearing acicular (needle-like) or conic teeth. ''A. jatius'' lacks these tooth plates, but has been included in this genus based on its

adipose fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only b ...

and

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelia ...

. The recognition of ''Ariodes'' as a

junior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

of ''Arius'' is tentative and needs to be further investigated. ''Arius'' species have three 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 ...

, including the fleshy and cylindrical maxillary barbels and two pairs of mental barbels. The base of the

is moderately long, about half the length of the base of the

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

Species

Currently, 23 living species are recognized for this genus. * ''

Arius acutirostris ''Arius acutirostris'' is a species of catfish in the family Ariidae. It is a fresh- and brackish-water species that inhabits lower reaches of tidal rivers and estuaries. It is known from the Irrawaddy and Salween River basins in Myanmar and from ...

'' F. Day, 1877 * ''

Arius africanus The African sea catfish (''Arius africanus''), also known as the marine catfish, is a species of sea catfish in the family Ariidae. It was described by Albert Günther in 1867. It is found in tropical brackish and freshwater in Tanzania, Madagasc ...

'' Günther, 1867 (African sea catfish) * ''

Arius arenarius The sand catfish (''Arius arenarius'') is a species of sea catfish in the family Ariidae. It was described by Johannes Peter Müller and Franz Hermann Troschel in 1849, originally under the genus '' Bagrus''.Müller, J. and F. H. Troschel 1849 e ...

'' ( J. P. Müller & Troschel, 1849) (sand catfish) * '' Arius arius'' ( F. Hamilton, 1822) (threadfin sea catfish) * ''

Arius brunellii ''Arius brunellii'' is a species of sea catfish in the family Ariidae. It was described by Giacomo Zolezzi in 1939.Zolezzi, G., 1939 ef. 17251''Descrizione di tre nuovi pesci del Giuba raccolti dalla Missione Ittiologica in A.O.I.'' Bollettino d ...

'' Zolezzi, 1939 * ''

Arius cous ''Arius cous'' is a species of sea catfish in the family Ariidae. It was described by Josef Hyrtl in 1859.Hyrtl, C. J. 1859 ef. 2291''Anatomische Untersuchung des Clarotes (Gonocephalus) heuglini Kner. Mit einer Abbildung und einer osteologische ...

'' Hyrtl, 1859 * '' Arius dispar'' Herre, 1926 (fleshysnout catfish) * '' Arius festinus'' H. H. Ng & Sparks, 2003 * '' Arius gagora'' ( F. Hamilton, 1822) (Gagora catfish) * '' Arius gigas'' Boulenger, 1911 (giant sea catfish) * '' Arius jella'' F. Day, 1877 (blackfin sea catfish) * '' Arius leptonotacanthus'' Bleeker, 1849 * '' Arius macracanthus'' Günther, 1864 * '' Arius maculatus'' ( Thunberg, 1792) (spotted catfish) * '' Arius madagascariensis'' Vaillant, 1894 (Madagascar sea catfish) * '' Arius malabaricus'' F. Day, 1877 * '' Arius manillensis''

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

, 1840 (Manila sea catfish) * '' Arius microcephalus'' Bleeker, 1855 (squirrelheaded catfish) * '' Arius nudidens'' M. C. W. Weber, 1913 * '' Arius oetik'' Bleeker, 1846 * '' Arius subrostratus''

, 1840 (shovelnose sea catfish) * '' Arius sumatranus'' (Anonymous, referred to E. T. Bennett, 1830) (goat catfish) * '' Arius uncinatus'' H. H. Ng & Sparks, 2003 * '' Arius venosus''

, 1840 (veined catfish) In addition, a fairly extensive

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

record exists, encompassing several species, but mainly represented by

otolith An otolith (, ' ear + , ', a stone), also called otoconium, statolith, or statoconium, is a calcium carbonate structure in the saccule or utricle (ear), utricle of the inner ear, specifically in the vestibular system of vertebrates. The saccule ...

s. * †'' Arius fraasi'' Peyer, 1928 -

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

of Egypt (

Mokattam Formation The Mokattam Formation is a Eocene, Middle Eocene-aged geological formation in northern Egypt. Consisting of Nummulite, nummulitic marine limestone outcropping across the Mokattam, Mokattam Hills, it has been extensively quarried from Ancient Egyp ...

) * †'' Arius kutchensis'' Rao, 1956 - Eocene of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

, India

References

Fish of Africa Fish of Southeast Asia Extant Maastrichtian first appearances Catfish genera Taxa named by Achille Valenciennes {{Ariidae-stub