The giant catfish (Netuma thalassina), also known as the giant sea catfish, giant salmon catfish, giant marine-catfish, or the khagga,[2] is a species of catfish in the family Ariidae.[3] It was described by Eduard Rüppell in 1837, originally under the genus Bagrus.[1] It inhabits estuaries and occasionally freshwater bodies, in Japan, Australia, Polynesia, southern Vietnam in the Mekong Delta, the Red Sea and the northwestern Indian Ocean. It dwells at a depth range of 10 to 195 m (33 to 640 ft).[3] It reaches a maximum total length of 185 cm (73 in), but usually reaches a TL of 70 cm (28 in).
| Giant catfish | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Ariidae |
| Genus: | Netuma |
| Species: | N. thalassina
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| Binomial name | |
| Netuma thalassina (Rüppell, 1837)
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| Synonyms[1] | |
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The diet of the giant catfish includes crustaceans such as crabs, shrimp, prawns and stomatopods; worms, finfish, cephalopods, sea cucumbers, and mollusks.[4][5][6] It spawns between April and August.[7]
The giant catfish is harvested commercially and recreationally.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b Synonyms of Netuma thalassina at www.fishbase.org.
- ^ Common names of Netuma thalassina at www.fishbase.org.
- ^ a b c Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Netuma thalassina". FishBase. May 2019 version.
- ^ Food items reported for Netuma thalassina at www.fishbase.org.
- ^ Food and Feeding Habits Summary Netuma thalassina, 1 Archived 2022-10-23 at the Wayback Machine at www.fishbase.org.
- ^ Food and Feeding Habits Summary Netuma thalassina, 2 at www.fishbase.org.
- ^ Spawning for Netuma thalassina at www.fishbase.org.
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