Teleostei (teleosts) >
Siluriformes (Catfishes) >
Aspredinidae (Banjo catfishes) > Aspredininae
Etymology: Aspredinichthys: Latin, aspredo, asperitas = roughness + Greek, ichthys = fish (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Valenciennes.
Issue
See Mees (1987: 190) for detailed description.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; brackish; demersal. Tropical
South America: lower portions of coastal rivers and in coastal waters in Venezuela to Brazil.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 21.8 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 36695); common length : 15.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5217)
Benthic fish which lives on sandy-muddy littoral waters, estuaries and flooded zones of rivers. Reproduction takes place in April and June (Ref. 35381). 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 (Ref. 35381). It is captured in coastal traps of stakes driven into the tidal mud (Chinese fish traps) (Ref. 6868).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Cervigón, F., R. Cipriani, W. Fischer, L. Garibaldi, M. Hendrickx, A.J. Lemus, R. Márquez, J.M. Poutiers, G. Robaina and B. Rodriguez, 1992. Fichas FAO de identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca. Guía de campo de las especies comerciales marinas y de aquas salobres de la costa septentrional de Sur América. FAO, Rome. 513 p. Preparado con el financiamento de la Comisión de Comunidades Europeas y de NORAD. (Ref. 5217)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.7500 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00112 (0.00043 - 0.00295), b=3.07 (2.84 - 3.30), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.2 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.65).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (17 of 100).