Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) >
Siluriformes (Catfish) >
Pimelodidae (Long-whiskered catfishes)
Etymology: Pseudoplatystoma: Greek, pseudes = false + Greek, platys = flat + Greek, stoma = mouth (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Freshwater; brackish; demersal; pH range: 6.2 - 7.2; dH range: ? - 20; potamodromous (Ref. 51243). Tropical; 22°C - 26°C (Ref. 12468), preferred ?
South America: Amazon and Orinoco River basins.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?, range 99 - ? cm
Max length : 130 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 35381); max. published weight: 17.0 kg (Ref. 35381)
Occurs in estuarine zones, mainly upstream of the first rapids up to the basin's headwaters. Nocturnal species which lives in the main bed of slow or fast zones, as well as in the flooded forests, particularly the juveniles., Opportunistic, piscivorous fish which may feed on crabs and shrimps. At the end of the dry season, they can migrate at the same time as their prey, then return at the end of the rainy season (Ref. 35381). Most important catfish in gill-net fisheries of Guaporé and Mamoré rivers.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Le Bail, P.-Y., P. Keith and P. Planquette, 2000. Atlas des poissons d'eau douce de Guyane. Tome 2, Fascicule II: Siluriformes. Collection Patrimoines Naturels 43(II): 307p. Paris: Publications scientifiques du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. (Ref. 35381)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
More information
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
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