Netuma thalassina, Giant catfish : fisheries, gamefish

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Netuma thalassina (Rüppell, 1837)

Giant catfish
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Netuma thalassina   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Netuma thalassina (Giant catfish)
Netuma thalassina
Picture by Shao, K.T.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Siluriformes (Catfishes) > Ariidae (Sea catfishes) > Ariinae
Etymology: Netuma: A Tamil word that means "dance".
More on author: Rüppell.

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

Marine; freshwater; brackish; demersal; amphidromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 10 - 195 m (Ref. 12260). Subtropical; 34°N - 34°S, 32°E - 154°E

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

Indo-West Pacific: known with certainty from the Red Sea and the northwestern Indian Ocean. Also reported from Australia, Polynesia and Japan and rarely in the Mekong delta (Ref. 12693).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 36.3, range 33 - 45 cm
Max length : 185 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 30573); common length : 70.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9987); max. published weight: 1.0 kg (Ref. 4883)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

A marine species often found in estuaries, but rarely enters freshwater. Typically euryhaline (Ref. 3876). Reported to occasionally ascend into fresh water (Ref. 12693). Recorded at temperatures ranging from 26-29°C. Feeds mainly on crabs, prawns, mantis shrimps (Squilla species) but also on fishes and mollusks. An important food fish. Marketed mostly fresh; often dried.

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

Incubates eggs in the mouth. The fry continue to take refuge in the mouths of the male fish for the first 2 months and once they leave, the males start to eat avidly and may consume their ouwn young.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Ferraris, Jr., Carl J. | Collaborators

Rainboth, W.J., 1996. Fishes of the Cambodian Mekong. FAO species identification field guide for fishery purposes. FAO, Rome, 265 p. (Ref. 12693)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)


CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Traumatogenic (Ref. 58010)





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 22.1 - 28.3, mean 26.8 °C (based on 839 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.6250   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00871 (0.00728 - 0.01042), b=3.06 (3.01 - 3.11), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.5   ±0.2 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 17.2 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 2 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.06-0.45; tm=2-4; tmax=19; Fec=34-88).
Prior r = 0.31, 95% CL = 0.17 - 0.58, Based on 4 stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate to high vulnerability (48 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  High vulnerability (57 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 26.3 [14.3, 64.9] mg/100g; Iron = 0.78 [0.47, 1.40] mg/100g; Protein = 18.1 [16.3, 19.9] %; Omega3 = 0.348 [0.179, 0.692] g/100g; Selenium = 46.2 [23.4, 97.4] μg/100g; VitaminA = 6.46 [2.31, 18.39] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.682 [0.451, 1.055] mg/100g (wet weight);