Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Superclassis/Classis: Actinopterygii
Classis/Subclassis: Actinopteri
Subclassis/Infraclassis: Neopterygii
Infraclassis: Teleostei
Megacohors: Osteoglossocephalai
Supercohors: Clupeocephala
Cohors: Otomorpha
Subcohors: Ostariophysi
Sectio: Otophysa
Ordo: Siluriformes
Familia: Auchenipteridae
Subfamilia: Auchenipterinae
Genus: Asterophysus
Species: Asterophysus batrachus
Name
Asterophysus batrachus Kner, 1858
References
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)
Asterophysus batrachus, the gulper catfish or ogre catfish, is a species of catfish (order Siluriformes) of the family Auchenipteridae. It is native to the Rio Negro and Orinoco basins in Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela,[1][2] where mostly found in slow-moving waters with many submerged structures.[3] It is currently the only recognized species of the genus Asterophysus,[4] but a specimen that possibly represents an undescribed species has been collected in Marajó (about 1,200 km or 750 mi from the traditionally recognized range of A. batrachus).[5]
The gulper catfish grows to a standard length of 25 cm (9.8 in),[1] and a total length of 28.5 cm (11.2 in).[6] It has a short, thick-set shape and is dark-colored with a whitish belly.[6] People in its native range typically will not eat it because they consider it very ugly,[7] but it is sometimes kept in aquariums.[8]
Feeding
The gulper catfish is a strict carnivore and swallows its prey, mostly other fish, whole. This prey can be exceptionally large for its size, sometimes even larger than the gulper catfish itself,[8] although such feeding attempts can be unsuccessful.[3] The gulper catfish's loosely connected dentary symphysis, slight mobility of the premaxillae along the symphysis, and highly flexible midpoint connection at the ventral side of the pectoral girdle enable the gulper catfish to greatly expand its oropharyngeal opening, thus enabling its ability to swallow prey larger than itself.[9]
Gulper catfish engulf prey headfirst, stimulating the prey to slide into its oropharyngeal chamber. Escaping out of the mouth is generally prevented by the fine, backwards-pointing teeth of the catfish. Instead the struggles of the prey cause it to be further engulfed and eventually ending up folded (with both its head and tail pointing towards the predator's head) in the greatly extendable gulper catfish stomach.[6][10] The fully extended stomach may result in an abnormal appearance of the gulper catfish to the point where its swimming can be impaired. It may also swallow large amounts of water only to expel it later along with remains of earlier prey.[6]
Potential prey fish are apparently unable to recognize the gulper catfish as dangerous because fish will not generally consider other fish of roughly similar size as a major threat, and because of its slow, unobtrusive approach.[6][10] A common observed attack is the catfish quickly turning to the side and biting on the head of the targeted fish. Even if the first attempt fails, the gulper catfish will not try to pursue it. The prey will typically still not realize that the catfish represents a threat and can be caught using the same approach.[6] Another method of catching prey was observed by a snorkeler in the Atabapo River. Here the gulper catfish live in crevices between rocks and dart out to catch passing prey such as angelfish.[11] In aquariums gulper catfish will feed during both day and night, but it is suspected the species is nocturnal and crepuscular in the wild, giving it an additional advantage when hunting along river banks for its often sleeping prey.[6]
References
Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2011). "Asterophysus batrachus" in FishBase. December 2011 version.
Prada-Pedreros, S.; J. González-Forero; J. Mondragón-Estupiñan (2009). "Incidental bycatch by ornamental fishing during the low-water season in the influence zone of Puerto Carreño, Colombian Orinoco Basin". Universitas Scientiarum. 14 (3): 15–22.
Scott, Brian M. (October 2007). "Top of the Food Chain". Tropical Fish Hobbyist. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
Ferraris, Carl J. Jr. (2007). "Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1418: 1–628. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1418.1.1.
Montag, L.F.d.A.; A.A.d. Albuquerque; T.M.d.S. Freitas; R.B. Barthem (2009). "Ictiofauna de campos alagados da Ilha do Marajó, Estado do Pará, Brasil". Biota Neotrop. 9 (3): 241–253. doi:10.1590/S1676-06032009000300024.
Zuanon, J.; I. Sazima (2005). "The ogre catfish: prey scooping by the auchenipterid Asterophysus batrachus". Aqua, Journal of Ichthyology and Aquatic Biology. 10 (1): 15–22.
Silva, A.L.d. (2007). "Comida de gente: preferências e tabus alimentares entre os ribeirinhos do Médio Rio Negro (Amazonas, Brasil)". Rev. Antropol. 50 (1): 125–179. doi:10.1590/S0034-77012007000100004. hdl:11449/29641.
"Asterophysus batrachus". SeriouslyFish. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
Zuanon, Jansen; Sazima, Ivan (2005). "The ogre catfish: prey scooping by the auchenipterid Asterophysus batrachus" (PDF). Aqua Journal of Ichthyology and Aquatic Biology. 1: 15–22.
Carvalho, L.N.; J. Zuanon; I. Sazima (2007). "Natural history of Amazon fishes". In Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (ed.). Tropical Biology and Natural Resources Theme. Vol. 1. Eolss Publishers, Oxford. pp. 1–24.
Schäfer, F. (1 October 2003). "Asterophysus batrachus". AquariumGlaser. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
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