Redtail Catfish
TAXONOMY
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Order: Siluriformes (Catfish)
Family :Pimelodidae (Long-whiskered catfishes)
Genus/species: Phractocephalus hemiliopterus
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS: Named for its orange-red caudal fin. Elongated with a rounded snout and three pairs of barbels around the mouth. The base body color is light black and small dark spots can be seen on the head. A wide white band extends from the caudal peduncle to the tip of the snout. The belly is black, as are the fins except the upper tip of the dorsal fin which may be orange to red.
Length up to 134 cm (4.5 feet). Weight up to 44 kg (97 lbs)
DISTRIBUTION/HABITAT: Native to South America: Amazon and Orinoco basins. Found in large freshwater rivers, streams and lakes.
DIET IN THE WILD: Fish, crabs and fruit.
REPRODUCTION: They exhibit external fertilization and do not guard the eggs.
LONGEVITY: approximately 20 to 30 years.
CONSERVATION: IUCN Red list and CITES: Not Evaluated.
REMARKS: P. hemiliopterus has been introduced, but is not established in Florida, perhaps a good thing as the redtail is a voracious predator on smaller fishes. Because of its size it is a popular game fish.
Unfortunately, the Steinhart inhabitants of our open-topped tank have swallowed shoes, cameras, sunglasses, a plastic dinosaur and cell phones, occurrences that have occasionally required manual (and extremely careful) extraction by a biologist or the veterinarian.
Amazon Flooded Tunnel
References
fishbase fishbase.org/summary/Phractocephalus-hemioliopterus.html
California Academy of Sciences Rainforest Docent Training Class 2014
Ron's flickr www.flickr.com/photos/cas_docents/3313914505/in/set-72157...
Ron's Wordpress shortlink wp.me/p1DZ4b-91
EOL eol.org/pages/344961/details
July 1, 2008, 1-6-13, 11-15-14, 2-23-18
Redtail Catfish
TAXONOMY
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Order: Siluriformes (Catfish)
Family :Pimelodidae (Long-whiskered catfishes)
Genus/species: Phractocephalus hemiliopterus
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS: Named for its orange-red caudal fin. Elongated with a rounded snout and three pairs of barbels around the mouth. The base body color is light black and small dark spots can be seen on the head. A wide white band extends from the caudal peduncle to the tip of the snout. The belly is black, as are the fins except the upper tip of the dorsal fin which may be orange to red.
Length up to 134 cm (4.5 feet). Weight up to 44 kg (97 lbs)
DISTRIBUTION/HABITAT: Native to South America: Amazon and Orinoco basins. Found in large freshwater rivers, streams and lakes.
DIET IN THE WILD: Fish, crabs and fruit.
REPRODUCTION: They exhibit external fertilization and do not guard the eggs.
LONGEVITY: approximately 20 to 30 years.
CONSERVATION: IUCN Red list and CITES: Not Evaluated.
REMARKS: P. hemiliopterus has been introduced, but is not established in Florida, perhaps a good thing as the redtail is a voracious predator on smaller fishes. Because of its size it is a popular game fish.
Unfortunately, the Steinhart inhabitants of our open-topped tank have swallowed shoes, cameras, sunglasses, a plastic dinosaur and cell phones, occurrences that have occasionally required manual (and extremely careful) extraction by a biologist or the veterinarian.
Amazon Flooded Tunnel
References
fishbase fishbase.org/summary/Phractocephalus-hemioliopterus.html
California Academy of Sciences Rainforest Docent Training Class 2014
Ron's flickr www.flickr.com/photos/cas_docents/3313914505/in/set-72157...
Ron's Wordpress shortlink wp.me/p1DZ4b-91
EOL eol.org/pages/344961/details
July 1, 2008, 1-6-13, 11-15-14, 2-23-18