The Guinean sea catfish (Carlarius parkii), also known as the marine catfish,[2] is a species of sea catfish in the family Ariidae.[3] It was described by Albert Günther in 1864, originally under the genus Arius.[4] It is a tropical fish which is found in the eastern Atlantic off Mauritania, Angola, Morocco and Western Sahara. A single record was reported in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in 1986.[5] It inhabits coastal marine waters at a depth range of 50 to 80 m (160 to 260 ft), also frequently entering estuaries and freshwater rivers. It reaches a maximum total length of 70 cm (28 in), more commonly reaching a TL of 40 cm (16 in).[3]

Guinean sea catfish
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Siluriformes
Family: Ariidae
Genus: Carlarius
Species:
C. parkii
Binomial name
Carlarius parkii
(Günther, 1864)
Synonyms[1]
  • Arius parkii Günther, 1864
  • Tachysurus gambensis (Bowdich, 1825)
  • Arius capellonis Steindachner, 1867
  • Tachysurus capellonis (Steindachner, 1867)
  • Tachysurus capellonsis (Steindachner, 1867)
  • Arius granulatus Peters, 1868

The Guinean sea catfish feeds on bony fish and shrimp.[6] It is of commercial interest to fisheries, although a venom in the serrated spines of its dorsal and pectoral regions can cause painful injuries.[3]

Male Guinean sea catfish orally incubate eggs.[3]

References

edit
  1. ^ Synonyms of Carlarius parkii at www.fishbase.org.
  2. ^ Common names of Carlarius parkii at www.fishbase.org.
  3. ^ a b c d Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Carlarius parkii". FishBase. September 2016 version.
  4. ^ Günther, A. 1864 (10 Dec.) [ref. 1974] Catalogue of the fishes in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Physostomi, containing the families Siluridae, Characinidae, Haplochitonidae, Sternoptychidae, Scopelidae, Stomiatidae in the collection of the British Museum. v. 5: i-xxii + 1-455
  5. ^ Atlas of Exotic Fishes in the Mediterranean Sea (Carlarius parkii). 2nd Edition. 2021. 366p. CIESM Publishers, Paris, Monaco.https://ciesm.org/atlas/fishes_2nd_edition/Carlarius_parkii.pdf
  6. ^ Food items reported for Carlarius parkii at www.fishbase.org.