Atipa
Hoplosternum littorale
Catfish
catfish
About
Catfish are bottom-dwelling fish found on every continent except Antarctica. In this app the group includes the Channel Catfish, Brown Bullhead, and Atipa.
How to tell it apart
Look for a scaleless body, a flat head, and a wide sucking mouth, which sets catfish apart from scaled fish of a similar shape. Members differ mostly in body armour, from bare skin to rows of bony plates, and in size.
Appearance
Catfish usually have a cylindrical body with a flat underside, and a flat head for digging in the riverbed. Their mouth can open wide for sucking up food, and some have a sucker-like mouth for gripping onto surfaces in fast water. They have no scales; some have bony plates instead, while others have bare, mucus-covered skin.
Habitat
Catfish live in fresh and brackish water worldwide, mostly in shallow, slow or running water. They are most varied in tropical South America, Asia, and Africa, and a few species also live in salt water.
Behaviour
Many catfish are active at night, though some are active at dawn and dusk or during the day. They make drumming and rasping sounds to communicate, especially when threatened or fighting.
Diet
Catfish feed mostly on the bottom, sucking or gulping up their food rather than biting it.
Is it dangerous?
mostly harmless (some species have venomous or sharp spines — handle with care)
Did you know?
Catfish can talk to each other. They make drumming sounds with their swim bladder and rasping sounds by rubbing their fin spines, and use both to communicate, especially when threatened.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
