Gafftopsail

The gafftopsail is a sea catfish of warm, murky coastal water off northern South America, from Colombia round to the mouth of the Amazon. It hangs around river mouths and pushes up into estuaries, where fresh and salt water mix. It stays shallow, down to about 50 m, and hunts small fish and bottom animals such as crabs and shrimp. Most are around 40 cm long, and the largest reach 55 cm.

Also known as: gafftopsail, sea catfish, catfish

Sea catfish all look much alike in cloudy water, and several share long trailing feelers. Use the fins instead: the skin between the fin rays on the back, chest and belly fins is black, which reads as dark fins against a pale silver body.

The body is silver grey to blue grey on top and silver white underneath. Four pairs of feelers, called barbels, hang around the mouth: two pairs on the snout, one pair on the lower jaw, and one pair at the back corners of the upper jaw. Those last two are remarkably long and trail back past the start of the anal fin, the fin on the underside near the tail. A long thread also runs off the spine at the front of each pectoral fin, the fin on the side of the chest, and reaches just as far back.