Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Siluriformes
(Catfish) > Ariidae
(Sea catfishes) > Ariinae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Freshwater; brackish; demersal. Tropical; 11°N - 1°N
South America: Atrato and Magdalena rivers, draining to the Colombian Caribbean.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 80.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3265); common length : 40.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3265)
Morphology | Morphometrics
soft rays: 19 - 21. Distinguished by having an elongated parieto-supraoccipital process, which is broader at base than distally, with its sides converging posteriorly to meet the predorsal plate, and 1.6 to 2.0 times longer than the width of its base. Differs also from other Caribbean sea catfishes by having 3 pairs of barbels, a crescent-shaped predorsal plate, much shorter than the parieto-supraoccipital process, and by lacking a fleshy furrow between posterior nostrils, a fleshy groove in a median depression of the head, and gill rakers on rear surfaces of the first two gill arches. Diagnosed from the eastern Pacific Notarius cookei by having a deeper body, with body depth 20.0-20.5% SL (vs. 17.3-17.9% SL in N. cookei). Attains a larger size of at least up to 8.45 cm TL and has a less exposed and rugose head shield than N. cookei with maximum size of 7.9 TL (Ref. 89868).
Found in turbid water over muddy bottoms in the lower portions of streams, estuaries and mangrove-lined lagoons. Mostly restricted to fresh and brackish waters.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Marceniuk, A.P. and C.J. Ferraris Jr., 2003. Ariidae (Sea catfishes). p. 447-455. In R.E. Reis, S.O. Kullander and C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (eds.) Checklist of the freshwater fishes of South and Central America. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, Brasil. (Ref. 39852)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)
CITES (Ref. 115941)
Threat to humans
Traumatogenic (Ref. 58010)
Fisheries: minor commercial
Common namesSynonymsMetabolismPredatorsEcotoxicologyReproductionMaturitySpawningFecundityEggsEgg development
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5002 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00832 (0.00495 - 0.01398), b=2.96 (2.82 - 3.10), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 4.1 ±0.6 se; Based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): High vulnerability (58 of 100) .