Overview
Family : Sea catfishes; Occurs mainly in brackish estuaries and lagoons . Found on shallow muddy bottoms [1]. Feeds on fish and shrimps. Two annual cycles of slower growth occur during the dry seasons (March and August to November). Life span is three to four years. Sexually mature at 1.5 to 2 years of age. Reproduction takes place from November to April. Consumed as food[2]. Marketed fresh. The skull is sold throughout the world as crucifix.
Common Names
Click on the language to view common names.
Common Names in Creole, French:
Machioran Blan
Common Names in Creoles and Pidgins,:
Machioran Blan
Common Names in Danish:
Krucifiksfisk
Common Names in Djuka:
Gata Fisi
Common Names in Dutch:
Christusvis
Common Names in English:
Catfish, Christfish, Crucifex Catfish, Crucifix Catfish, Crucifix Sea Catfish, Crucifixfish, Gillbacker, Marine Catfish
Common Names in French:
Mâchoiron Crucifix, Mâchoiron Crucifix
Common Names in Galibi:
Kubila
Common Names in Malay:
Duri, Pulutan, Utek
Common Names in Mandarin Chinese:
前眼海鯰, 前眼鱨, å‰çœ¼é±¨, å‰çœ¼æµ·é¯°
Common Names in Palicur:
Ouboumwi
Common Names in Polish:
Sumik Krzyzowy
Common Names in Portuguese:
Bagre, Bagre Crucifixio, Bagre-Branco, Bagre-Crucifixo, Guri-Branco, Iritinga, Uritinga
Common Names in South American India:
Kokwari, Kupira
Common Names in Spanish:
Bagre Piedrero
Common Names in Sranan:
Kokwari, Kupira
Description
Family Ariidae
Chiefly marine ; occasionally freshwater . Distribution: tropical and subtropical waters. Forked caudal fin . Adipose fin present. Barbels usually 3 pairs, rarely 2 pairs. Nasal barbels absent. Bony plates present on head and near dorsal fin. A leading spine in both pectoral and dorsal fins. Many species enter freshwater and some are restricted to freshwater. Normally the male carries the relatively large eggs in its mouth until hatching .The family Ariidae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes ) and the Order Siluriformes. It contains 14 genera and 120 species. It may be found in Marine, Brackish , and Freshwater environments and is primarily Marine. Members of this family are not used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are bearers. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is carangiform . Compared with other fish, the activity level of this family tends to be normal. Members of this family have been dated back to the lower Eocene epoch of the Tertiary period. This family may be found from 42° n to 40° s and 122° w to 154° e. Etymology of this family name : Perhaps from Greek, ari = particle with the meaning of strength, power, but it is need confirmation
Habitat
Biome: Brackish water, saltwater . Demersal .
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Animalia
()
- Linnaeus, 1758
- animals
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
()
- (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
- Branch:
Deuterostomia
()
- Grobben, 1908
- Infrakingdom:
Chordonia
()
- (Haeckel, 1874) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Phylum:
Chordata
()
- Bateson, 1885
- Chordates
- Subphylum:
Vertebrata
()
- Cuvier, 1812
- Vertebrates
- Infraphylum:
Gnathostomata
()
- Auct.
- Jawed Vertebrates
- Superclass:
Osteichthyes
()
- Huxley, 1880
- Bony Fishes
- Class:
Osteichthyes
()
- Huxley, 1880
- Bony Fishes
- Subclass:
Actinopterygii
()
- Ray-Finned Fishes
- Infraclass:
Actinopteri
()
- Cohort:
Clupeocephala
()
- Order:
Siluriformes
()
- Family:
Ariidae
()
- Sea Catfishes
- Genus:
Hexanematichthys
()
- (Günther, 1864)
- Specific name:
proops
- (Valenciennes, 1840)
- Scientific name: - Hexanematichthys proops (Valenciennes, 1840)
- Specific name:
proops
- (Valenciennes, 1840)
- Genus:
Hexanematichthys
(
- Family:
Ariidae
(
- Order:
Siluriformes
(
- Cohort:
Clupeocephala
(
- Infraclass:
Actinopteri
(
- Subclass:
Actinopterygii
(
- Class:
Osteichthyes
(
- Superclass:
Osteichthyes
(
- Infraphylum:
Gnathostomata
(
- Subphylum:
Vertebrata
(
- Phylum:
Chordata
(
- Infrakingdom:
Chordonia
(
- Branch:
Deuterostomia
(
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
Unambiguous Synonyms
- Arius proops (Valenciennes, 1840)
- Bagrus proops Valenciennes, 1840
- Sciadeichthys proops (Valenciennes, 1840)
Notes
Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Group expert : Ferraris Jr. C.J., Data last modified by FishBase 11-May-2001
Similar Species
Members of the genus Hexanematichthys
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 29 species and subspecies in this genus:
H. seemanni · H. parkeri · H. armigiers · H. assimilis (Mayan Sea Catfish) · H. bonillai (New Granada Sea Catfish) · H. couma (Pemecou Sea Catfish) · H. dowii (Brown Sea Catfish) · H. felis · H. guatemalensis (Widehead Sea Catfish) · H. henni · Sciades herzbergii · H. jordani · H. kessleri (Sculptured Sea Catfish) · H. leptaspis · H. mastersi (Master's Catfish) · H. nigispinnis · H. osculus (Chomba Sea Catfish) · H. parkeri (Gillbacker Sea Catfish) · H. passany (Passany Sea Catfish) · H. platypogon (Cominate Sea Catfish) · H. proops (Crucifix Sea Catfish) · H. rugispinis · H. sagor · H. seemanni (Tete Sea Catfish) · H. sundaicus · H. surinamensis · H. parkeri · H. parkeri · H. couma
More Info
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- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- Burgess, Warren E. 1989. An Atlas of Freshwater and Marine Catfishes: A Preliminary Survey of the Siluriformes. T. F. H. Publications, Inc. Neptune City, New Jersey, USA. 784.
- Cervigón, F., R. Cipriani, W. Fischer, L. Garibaldi, M. Hendrickx, A.J. Lemus, R. Márquez, J.M. Poutiers, G. Robaina and B. Rodriguez (1992). Fichas FAO de identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca. Guía de campo de las especies comerciales ma
- Le Bail, P.-Y, P. Keith and P. Planquette (2000). Atlas des poissons d'eau douce de Guyane (tome 2, fascicule II). Publications scientifiques du M.N.H.N, Paris, 307 p.
- Marceniuk, A.P. and C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (2003). Ariidae (Sea catfishes). p. 447-455. In R.E. Reis, S.O. Kullander and C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (eds.) Checklist of the freshwater fishes of South and Central America. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, Brasil.
- Shiino, Sueo M. 1976. List of Common Names of Fishes of the World, Those Prevailing among English-speaking Nations. Science Report of Shima Marineland, no. 4. Shima Marineland. Kashikojima, Shima, Mie, Japan. 262.
Notes
Contributors
- Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed October 8, 2006.
- Ferraris, Jr., Carl J. (from FishBase).
- FishBase 2006.
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 21, 2007. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from provider.
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 01, 2008:
- FishBase: FishBase DiGIR Provider - Philippine Server
- Museum national d'histoire naturelle: Ichtyologie
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University: MCZ Fish Collection
- Royal Ontario Museum: Fish specimens
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3325457
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Fis-143058
- Fishbase Species ID: 955
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 113034
Footnotes
- Cervigón, F., R. Cipriani, W. Fischer, L. Garibaldi, M. Hendrickx, A.J. Lemus, R. Márquez, J.M. Poutiers, G. Robaina and B. Rodriguez (1992). Fichas FAO de identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca. Guía de campo de las especies comerciales ma [back]
- Le Bail, P.-Y, P. Keith and P. Planquette (2000). Atlas des poissons d'eau douce de Guyane (tome 2, fascicule II). Publications scientifiques du M.N.H.N, Paris, 307 p. [back]
