Ridged catfish

📖 Overview

Ridged catfish (Amissidens hainesi) is a ray-finned fish of the family Ariidae. It inhabits marine (saltwater) waters in benthic environments. This species can reach a maximum total length of 32 cm. With a trophic level of 3.8, it is a mid-level predator. Venomous.

🔬 Taxonomy

🐟 Physical Description

Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 7; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 20 - 23; Vertebrae: 49 - 50. Palate without teeth (but autogenous tooth plates present); jaw teeth slender, in short, oblong band. Lips fleshy, thin; mouth small, lower jaw truncate. Barbels thin, short, maxillary barbel reaching only just beyond eye; base of chin barbels close together. Eye large, 14-24% HL, lateral. Dorsomedian head groove elongate, deep posteriorly. Gill rakers along posterior of all arches; gill opening slightly restricted; two large epithelial flaps on palate posteriorly and double folds on upper limb of first two gill arches. Longitudinal furrows anterodorsally on body. Fin spines thin, long, slender; adipose fin short-based, over posterior two-thirds of anal; ventral fin pad of sexually mature females scalloped and tapered. Dark grey above and iridescent purple; palate and branchial chamber often purplish brown to charcoal .

🌀 Behaviour

Behavioural data for Ridged catfish is currently being reviewed.

🦐 Diet

🥚 Reproduction

🌍 Habitat & Distribution

Marine; brackish; demersal. Tropical Central Pacific: southern New Guinea and northern Australia.

🌿 Ecology

📐 Morphometrics

🌡️ Water Parameters & Tolerance

📊 Population Risk & Fisheries

⚠️ Venom Profile

References: Compiled from Bhide (2018), Halstead et al. (1988) and family-specific envenomation literature

🔍 Similar Species

🗺️ Global Occurrence Map

Occurrence records from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) - 1 records indexed .

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