Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Siluriformes
(Catfish) > Ariidae
(Sea catfishes) > Ariinae
Environment / Climate / Range
Marine; freshwater; brackish; demersal. Tropical; 18°N - 15°S, 77°W - 39°W
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?, range 52 - ? cm
Max length : 100.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3265); common length : 50.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3265); max. published weight: 9.0 kg (Ref. 5217); max. reported age: 4 years (Ref. 51629)
(total): 1. The head is more or less flattened, the nostril nearly rounded, mouth inferior. There are three pairs of barbels, 1 pair of maxillary barbel and 2 pairs of mandibular barbels.
Western Atlantic: Caribbean and Atlantic draining rivers and estuaries from Colombia to Brazil.
Inhabits mainly brackish estuaries and lagoons. Occurs also in freshwaters (Ref. 58022). Found on shallow muddy bottoms (Ref. 5217). 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 (Ref. 35381). Marketed fresh. The skull is sold throughout the world as crucifix.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Pairing involved in reproduction. Mouth brooding may be employed (Ref. 205).
Taylor, W.R. and N.A. Menezes, 1978. Ariidae. In W. Fischer (ed.) FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. West Atlantic (Fishing Area 31). volume 1. [pag. var.]. FAO, Rome. (Ref. 3265)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 96402)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Threat to humans
Traumatogenic (Ref. 36613)
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5039 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00513 (0.00231 - 0.01140), b=3.11 (2.91 - 3.31), based on LWR estimates for this Subfamily-body shape (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 4.4 ±0.7 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (tm=1.5; tmax=3.5; K=0.5).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Moderate vulnerability (38 of 100) .