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Chaca chaca (Hamilton, 1822)

Squarehead catfish
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Chaca chaca
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Siluriformes (Catfishes) > Chacidae (Squarehead or angler catfish)
Etymology: Chaca: Because of the sound that this fish makes when out of water (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Hamilton.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; demersal; pH range: 6.0 - 8.0; dH range: 4 - 25; potamodromous (Ref. 51243). Tropical; 22°C - 24°C (Ref. 1672); 38°N - 18°N

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Asia: India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaya and Indonesia (Ref. 41236). Reported from Myanmar (Ref. 4537).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 20.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 41236)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabits rivers, beels, canals and ponds (Ref. 1479). Prefers soft substrates where it lies concealed in the soft mire of the river bed. It depends upon this concealment for protection and will not even move when it is touched lightly. Lies quietly on the bottom until some prey comes along (Ref. 6868). Apparently a worm-like appendix at the fringe of the mouth is used to attract prey (Ref. 50926). Fairly common in catches, but is not eaten perhaps due to its ugly appearance.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Talwar, P.K. and A.G. Jhingran, 1991. Inland fishes of India and adjacent countries. Volume 2. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, i-xxii + 543-1158, 1 pl. (Ref. 4833)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 06 October 2009

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Electrophoreses
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Aquaculture profiles
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References

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.6250   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00180 - 0.00842), b=3.12 (2.94 - 3.30), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.2   ±0.73 se; based on food items.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (10 of 100).