Gilded catfish
| Gilded catfish | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Pimelodidae |
| Genus: | Zungaro |
| Species: | Z. zungaro |
| Binomial name | |
| Zungaro zungaro (Humboldt in Humboldt and Valenciennes, 1821) | |
| Subspecies | |
| |
| Synonyms | |
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The gilded catfish or jau (Zungaro zungaro) is a South American catfish (order Siluriformes) of the family Pimelodidae.
Taxonomy
By some sources, it is the only species of the monotypic genus Zungaro.[1] However, some sources list other species as valid, such as Zungaro jahu.[2] This species may be referred to by one of its synonyms, Brachyplatystoma flavicans.[3] This species contains two subspecies, Z. z. mangurus and Z. z. zungaro.[4]
Distribution and habitat
They are sexually mature upon reaching 10 kg (22 lb) weight.[3] This fish native to the Orinoco and Amazon basins; in the Amazon, this fish is found quite upstream, in the main bed of the big tributaries with muddy bottoms.[3]
Description
This fish reaches 140 cm (55 in) in total length, and specimens measuring 130 cm (51 in) and weighing 50 kg (110 lb) are not rare.[3] These fish are mainly piscivorous, hunt at night, and sometimes go into flood-prone areas of rivers. Some migrations in pursuit of migrating Triportheus and Anodus have been reported. The nursery ground is at the mouths of rivers.[3]
References
- ↑ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2007). Species of Zungaro in FishBase. May 2007 version.
- ↑ Ferraris, Carl J., Jr. (2007). "Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types" (PDF). Zootaxa 1418: 1–628.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2012). "Zungaro zungaro" in FishBase. February 2012 version.
- ↑ "Zungaro zungaro". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved May 2007.