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Siluriformes (Catfishes) >
Ariidae (Sea catfishes) > Ariinae
Etymology: Cathorops: Greek, kathorao = to observe, to watch + Greek, ops = appearance (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: These species are named after the Wayuu, an aboriginal people who live on the coastal region of the Guajira Peninsula (northern Colombia/north-west Venezuela), the type locality. (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; brackish; demersal. Tropical
Western Atlantic: Colombia to Venezuela.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 31.4 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 92375)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 7; Anal soft rays: 19 - 24; Vertebrae: 40 - 43. Distinguished from its subcongeners from the Western Atlantic by the following combination of characters: maxillary barbel reaching or surpassing base of pectoral spine; orbital diameter 1.8-2.5 (rarely 1.7) in snout length; orbital diameter 5.2-7.8 in maxillary barbel length; orbital diameter 4.0-5.7 in external mental barbel length; no fleshy papillae on lateral and mesial surfaces of first and second gill arches; 17-20 gill rakers on first arch; 16-19 gill rakers on second arch; supraoccipital process 9.1-11.5% SL; silvery or whitish coloration on flanks and abdominal region in life; 41-43 free vertebrae; dorsal-fin spine shorter or as long as pectoral-fin spine; dorsal-fin spine length 1.05-1.3 in pectoral-fin spine length; densely granulated cephalic shield; eight fixed mitochondrial substitutions; pale pigmentation on pelvic and pectoral fins; short and inconspicuous serrations on posterior margin of pectoral-fin spine; lower caudal-peduncle 6.2-8.3% SL; snout length 1.0-1.4 in supraoccipital process length; supraoccipital process length 0.7-0.9 in width of cephalic shield at lateral ethmoid area; and orbital diameter 2.8-3.9 (rarely 2.7) in width of cephalic shield at lateral ethmoid area. Differs from its subcongeners from eastern Pacific by the following characters: osseous portion of dorsomedial groove of neurocranium conspicuous and deep, with straight margins tapering posteriorly; dorsal-fin spine thicker or as thick as pectoral-fin spine; narrow caudal-fin lobes, pointed posteriorly; 18-23 gill rakers on first arch; 16-19 gill rakers on second arch; mouth 8.9-11.7% SL; orbital diameter 3.5-4.9% SL; cephalic shield at supracleithrum area 16.6-18.2% SL; 16-21 gill rakers on first arch; 19-24 anal-fin rays; fleshy portion of dorsomedial groove of neurocranium inconspicuous, wide and shallow, not continuous to the level of posterior nares; supraoccipital process 9.1-11.5% SL; mesial mental barbel 10.8-16.7% SL; thin lips; and accessory tooth plates and posterior expansion of dentary with small molariform teeth (Ref. 92375).
Found in brackish and coastal marine waters (Ref. 92375).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Marceniuk, A.P., R. Betancur-R., A. Acero and J. Muriel-Cunha, 2012. Review of the genus Cathorops (Siluriformes: Ariidae) from the Caribbean and Atlantic South America, with description of a new species. Copeia 2012(1):77-97. (Ref. 92375)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01000 (0.00244 - 0.04107), b=3.04 (2.81 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.4 ±0.8 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (28 of 100).
