''Cathorops'' 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 in 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 ...

found in the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

and

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

s. These species are found in the eastern and western Central and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

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

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

habitats.Marceniuk, A.P. & Menezes, N.A. (2007)
Systematics of the family Ariidae (Ostariophysi, Siluriformes), with a redefinition of the genera.
''Zootaxa, 1416: 1–126.'' This genus is a strongly supported

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

of this family.Betancur-R., R. & Acero P., A. (2005)
Description of ''Cathorops mapale'', a new species of sea catfish (Siluriformes: Ariidae) from the Colombian Caribbean, based on morphological and mitochondrial evidence.
/ref> It consists of a natural group in which the

monophyly In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent comm ...

is well-defined by morphological and molecular evidence and the genus probably includes several unrecognized species from both American coasts.Marceniuk, A.P. (2007)
Description of ''Cathorops manglarensis'', a new species from the Colombian Pacific, with redescription of ''Cathorops multiradiatus'' (Siluriformes; Ariidae).
''Zootaxa, 1529: 33–48.''

Species

There are currently 22 recognized species in this genus: * '' Cathorops agassizii'' ( C. H. Eigenmann & R. S. Eigenmann, 1888) * '' Cathorops aguadulce'' (

Meek Meekness is an attribute of human nature and behavior that has been defined as an amalgam of righteousness, inner humility, and patience. Meekness has been contrasted with humility alone insomuch as humility simply refers to an attitude towards o ...

, 1904) (Estuarine sea catfish) * '' Cathorops arenatus'' (

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) * '' Cathorops belizensis'' Marceniuk & Betancur-R., 2008 (Belizean sea catfish) * '' Cathorops dasycephalus'' ( Günther, 1864) (Big-belly sea catfish) * '' Cathorops festae'' ( Boulenger, 1898)Marceniuk, A.P., Marchena, J. & Betancur-R., R. (2016): ''Cathorops festae'' (Boulenger 1898) (Siluriformes; Ariidae), a valid species from Ecuador and Peru. ''Zootaxa, 4170 (1): 137–148.'' * '' Cathorops fuerthii'' (

Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachner descri ...

, 1876) (Congo sea catfish) * '' Cathorops higuchii'' Marceniuk & Betancur-R., 2008 (Higuchi's sea catfish) * '' Cathorops hypophthalmus'' (

, 1876) (Gloomy sea catfish) * '' Cathorops kailolae'' Marceniuk & Betancur-R., 2008 (Kailola's sea catfish) * '' Cathorops liropus'' (

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, 1897) (Conguito sea catfish) * '' Cathorops manglarensis'' Marceniuk, 2007 * '' Cathorops mapale'' Betancur-R. & Acero P, 2005 (Mapalé sea catfish) * '' Cathorops melanopus'' ( Günther, 1864) (Dark sea catfish) * '' Cathorops multiradiatus'' ( Günther, 1864) (Box sea catfish) * '' Cathorops nuchalis'' ( Günther, 1864) (Orinoco sea catfish) * '' Cathorops raredonae'' Marceniuk, Betancur-R. & Acero P, 2009 (Raredon's sea catfish) * '' Cathorops spixii'' (

Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Spending his early life in Switzerland, he recei ...

, 1829) (Madamango sea catfish) * '' Cathorops steindachneri'' ( C. H. Gilbert & Starks, 1904) (Steindachner's sea catfish) * '' Cathorops taylori'' (

Hildebrand Hildebrand is a character from Germanic heroic legend. ''Hildebrand'' is the modern German form of the name: in Old High German it is ''Hiltibrant'' and in Old Norse ''Hildibrandr''. The word ''hild'' means "battle" and ''brand'' means "sword" ...

, 1925) (Taylor's sea catfish) * '' Cathorops tuyra'' (

, 1923) (Besudo sea catfish) * '' Cathorops wayuu'' Betancur-R., Acero P & Marceniuk, 2012 (Wayuu sea catfish)Marceniuk, A.P., Betancur-R., R., Acero P., A. & Muriel-Cunha, J. (2012): Review of the Genus ''Cathorops'' (Siluriformes: Ariidae) from the Caribbean and Atlantic South America, with Description of a New Species. ''Copeia, 2012 (1): 77–97.''

References

Ariidae Fish of Central America Fish of South America Vertebrates of Mexico Catfish genera Taxa named by David Starr Jordan Taxa named by Charles Henry Gilbert {{Ariidae-stub