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

Teleostei (teleosts) > Siluriformes (Catfishes) > Aspredinidae (Banjo catfishes) > Aspredininae
Etymology: Platystacus: Greek, platys = flat, broad + Latin, acus = needle (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Bloch.

Issue
See Mees (1987: 186) for detailed description. Friel (1994: 86) removed this species from Aspredo to preserve monophyly of that genus.

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

Freshwater; brackish; demersal; pH range: 6.8 - 8.2; dH range: 12 - 35. Tropical; 22°C - 25°C (Ref. 2060)

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

Central and South America: Venezuela to northern Brazil (including the lower portions of coastal rivers).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 31.8 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 36695); common length : 15.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5217)

Occurs mainly in brackish water. Found on soft bottoms of shallow turbid water near river mouths. Reported to migrate from estuary into freshwater, but actual spawning apparently takes place in brackish water (Ref. 6868). The species has a peculiar mode of egg incubation wherein the female banjo catfish carries the eggs firmly attached to the underside of the body. This seems to be an adaptation to facilitate the oxygenation of the eggs in muddy environments. Reproduction probably occurs during the earlier part of the year (Ref. 35381).

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

Females carry their eggs and young attached to the ventral surface of the body.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Friel, John P. | Collaborators

Friel, J.P., 2003. Aspredinidae (Banjo catfishes). p. 261-267. 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. (Ref. 36695)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 05 August 2020

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
Heritabilities

Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.

Outreach
Collaborators

Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Morphometrics
Pictures

References
References

Tools

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 1.0000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00269 (0.00133 - 0.00544), b=3.01 (2.83 - 3.19), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 3.2 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (29 of 100).

Back to Search

Random Species

Platystacus cotylephorus Bloch, 1794