Ariidae

Taxobox
name = Ariidae


image_width = 250px
image_caption = "Bagre marinus"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Actinopterygii
ordo = Siluriformes
superfamilia = Arioidea
familia = Ariidae
familia_authority = L. S. Berg, 1958
subdivision_ranks = Genera
subdivision = "Amissidens"
"Amphiarius"
"Arius"
"Aspistor"
"Bagre"
"Batrachocephalus"
"Brustiarius"
"Carlarius"
"Cathorops"
"Cephalocassis"
"Cinetodus"
"Cochlefelis"
"Cryptarius"
"Doiichthys"
"Galeichthys"
"Genidens"
"Hemiarius"
"Ketengus"
"Nedystoma"
"Nemapteryx"
"Neoarius"
"Netuma"
"Notarius"
"Osteogeneiosus"
"Pachyula"
"Plicofollis"
"Potamarius"
"Potamosilurus"
"Sciades"
"Tetranesodon"

The Ariidae or ariid catfish are catfish that mainly live in marine waters with many freshwater and brackish water species. They are found worldwide in tropical to warm temperate zones.

Ariid catfish have sometimes been called crucifix catfish thanks to a rather peculiar skull morphology that, with a bit of imagination, can be seen to resemble a crucifixion scene. [ [http://www.scotcat.com/articles/article53.htm The Crucifix Catfish] by Allan James]

Taxonomy

The relationships of this family are not yet clear. By some some sources, "Doiichthys" has previously been classified in its own family, Doiichthyidae.cite book|title=Fishes of the World|last=Nelson|first=Joseph S.|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc|year=2006|isbn=0471250317] Two of the genera, "Gogo" and "Ancharius", have been moved to a separate family called Anchariidae.cite journal|title=Revision of the endemic Malagasy catfish family Anchariidae (Teleostei: Siluriformes), with descriptions of a new genus and three new species|first=Heok Hee|last=Ng|coauthors=Sparks, John S.|year=2005|journal=Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwaters|volume=16|issue=4|pages=303–323|format=PDF] Ariidae is divided into two subfamilies: "Galeichthys" is the only genus classified in the subfamily Galeichthyinae, while the rest of the genera are classified in the subfamily Ariinae.cite journal|url=http://www.pfeil-verlag.de/04biol/pdf/ief18_2_06.pdf|title=Monophyly, affinities, and subfamilial clades of sea catfishes (Siluriformes: Ariidae)|first=Arturo|last=Acero P.|coauthors=Betancur-R., Ricardo|journal=Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwaters|volume=18|issue=2|pages=133–143|month=June | year=2007|format=PDF]

Previously, Ariidae has been grouped in the superfamily Doradoidea, but then it was moved into Bagroidea (along with Austroglanididae, Claroteidae, Schilbeidae, Pangasiidae, Bagridae, and Pimelodidae. It has also been classified in a superfamily Arioidea containing Ariidae and Anchariidae.cite journal|journal=Mol Phylogenet Evol.|year=2006|volume=41|issue=3|pages=636–62|title=A phylogenetic analysis of the major groups of catfishes (Teleostei: Siluriformes) using rag1 and rag2 nuclear gene sequences|last=Sullivan|first=JP|coauthors=Lundberg JG; Hardman M|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2006.05.044]

Distribution and habitat

Ariids are found worldwide in tropical to warm temperate zones. Ariids are unusual among catfish in that they live primarily in the sea; the majority of catfish families are strictly freshwater and have little tolerance for brackish or marine conditions. Ariid catfish are found in shallow temperate and tropical seas around the coastlines of North and South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. They are absent from Europe and Antarctica.

Many species are also present in freshwater habitats; some species only occur in freshwater. In North and South America about 43 species extend into brackish water or are found exclusively in freshwater. "Doiichthys" is another freshwater species that is found in New Guinea.

Appearance and anatomy

Ariidae catfish have a deeply forked caudal fin. There are usually three pairs of barbels. They possess some bony plates on their head and near their dorsal fins. At least some species have venomous spines in their dorsal and pectoral fins. [FishBase species|genus=Bagre|species=marinus|year=2007|month=May]

Ecology

Beyond their maritime habitat, ariid catfish have a number of unique adaptations that set them apart from other catfish. Most, if not all species, are mouthbrooding fish, with the male carrying a small clutch of a few dozen, golf-ball sized eggs for about two months until they eggs hatch and the fry become free-swimming.FishBase family|family=Ariidae|year=2007|month=May] [ [http://www.sms.si.edu/IRLSpec/Ariops_felis.htm Ariopsis felis] ]

Relationship to humans

One well known ariid catfish is the hardhead sea catfish, "Ariopsis felis", abundant along the Western Atlantic coast from Massachusetts to Mexico. Although hardhead catfish reach a weight of about 5.5 kg and are good eating, they have a mixed reputation as game fish and are often considered nuisance bait stealers. [ [http://www.texasgulfcoastfishing.com/catfish.htm Hardhead Catfish] ]

A less abundant species, more highly regarded as a game and food fish, is the Gafftopsail catfish, "Bagre marinus". The range of the gafftop extends further south, to Venezuela.

The smaller ariid catfish have minor value as public and home aquarium fish. In 1972, the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago received worldwide acclaim for the first successful breeding of "Ariopsis felis" in captivity, a feat they have repeated several times since. The Colombian shark catfish "Sciades seemanni" (until recently "Hexanematichthys seemanni") is a fairly popular aquarium fish, though it has been traded under a variety of spurious names, such as "Arius jordani" and "Arius seemani". [ [http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=700 "Hexanematichthys seemanni"] ] Less commonly traded aquarium species include "Arius berneyi" and "Arius graeffei". [ [http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/family.php?family_id=9 The catfish family Ariidae] ]

References