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Teleostei (teleosts) > Siluriformes (Catfishes) > Chacidae (Squarehead or angler catfish)
Etymology: Chaca: Because of the sound that this fish makes when out of water (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Hamilton.

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

Freshwater; demersal; pH range: 6.0 - 8.0; dH range: 4 - 25; potamodromous (Ref. 51243). Tropical; 22°C - 24°C (Ref. 1672); 38°N - 18°N

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

Asia: India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaya and Indonesia (Ref. 41236). Reported from Myanmar (Ref. 4537).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 20.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 41236)

Inhabits rivers, beels, canals and ponds (Ref. 1479). Prefers soft substrates where it lies concealed in the soft mire of the river bed. It depends upon this concealment for protection and will not even move when it is touched lightly. Lies quietly on the bottom until some prey comes along (Ref. 6868). Apparently a worm-like appendix at the fringe of the mouth is used to attract prey (Ref. 50926). Fairly common in catches, but is not eaten perhaps due to its ugly appearance.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Talwar, P.K. and A.G. Jhingran, 1991. Inland fishes of India and adjacent countries. Volume 2. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, i-xxii + 543-1158, 1 pl. (Ref. 4833)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 06 October 2009

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: commercial

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

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Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.6250 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00180 - 0.00842), b=3.12 (2.94 - 3.30), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 4.2 ±0.73 se; based on food items.

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).

Chaca chaca (Hamilton, 1822)