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Clarias macrocephalus in Guam
Bighead catfish

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Clarias macrocephalus   Günther, 1864
Family:	Clariidae (Airbreathing catfishes)			picture (Clmac_u0.jpg) by Baird, I.G.
Order:	Siluriformes  (catfish)
Class:	Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
FishBase name:	Bighead catfish
Max. size:	120 cm TL (male/unsexed; Ref. 9987)
Environment:	benthopelagic; potamodromous ; depth range - 1 m
Climate:	tropical; 34°N - 4°N
Global Importance:	fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial
Resilience:	High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Assuming tm=1; Fec=800-14,000)
Distribution:	Asia: Thailand to Viet Nam. Introduced to China, Malaysia, Guam and the Philippines.
Diagnosis:	Dorsal spines (total): 0-0. Distinguished from Southeast Asian congeners by an extremely short and rounded occipital process and by a very high dorsal fin. The combination of these characters are diagnostic for the species (Ref. 33566). Occipital process wide, broadly curved, with length 3-5 times in its width; distance between dorsal and occipital process 5-7 times in distance from tip of snout to end of occipital process (Ref. 43281).
Biology:	Lives in lowland wetlands and rivers (Ref. 57235). Occurs in shallow, open water and is capable of lying buried in mud for lengthy period if ponds and lakes evaporate during dry seasons (Ref. 9987). Can move out of the water using its extended fins (Ref. 9987). Found in medium to large-sized rivers, stagnant water bodies including sluggish flowing canals and flooded fields of the Mekong (Ref. 12975). Spawns in small streams (Ref. 9987). Feeds on aquatic insects, young shrimps and small fishes (Ref. 6459). In Thailand and Laos, this fish is considered to be better and more nourishing than Clarias batrachus; uncommon in Laos but common in Thailand; thought wrongly as female of Clarias batrachus in Thailand (Ref 2686). Important foodfish and in pond cultures (Ref. 57235). Marketed live, fresh and frozen; consumed fried, broiled and baked (Ref. 9987). Cultivated on a small scale but attempts to farm it are increasing (Ref. 9987)
Threatened:	Not Evaluated, see IUCN Red List  , (Ref. 36508)
Dangerous:	harmless
Coordinator:
Main Ref:	Teugels, G.G., R.C. Diego, L. Pouyaud and M. Legendre. 1999. (Ref. 33566)
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Guam country information
Common names:	[ No common name ]		Ref:
Status:	introduced		Ref:
Salinity:	freshwater
Uses:	no uses
Country Information:	www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gq.html
Occurrences:	Occurrences    Point map
Main Ref:	Eldredge, L.G., 1994
Update

More information:	Countries FAO areas Occurrences Introductions Ecosystem Ecology Diet Food items Food consumption Ration Predators Ciguatera Fish loss Common names Synonyms Pictures Sounds Reproduction Maturity Spawning Eggs Egg dev. Larvae Larval dynamics References Growth L-W relationship L-L relationship Length frequencies Recruitment Max. age & size Metabolism Morphology Morphometrics Gill area Brains Vision Collaborators Genetics Allele frequencies Heritability Strains Aquaculture Aquaculture profile Diseases Ecotoxicology Processing Speed Swim. type Stamps
	Note: No data are available if label is black .
Tools:	Biogeographic modelling | E-book | Field guide | Length-frequency Wizard | Life-history tool | Point map |
Internet sources:	BiOSC Point Data | CISTI | Google | GOBASE | GenBank ( genome, nucleotide ) | PubMed | Recipes | Scirus | Tree of Life | Zoological Record
	Note: use the Back button of your browser to return to FishBase.
	Modified:  Froese, Rainer	Entered:  Agustin, Liza Q.

	Ref.:				Glossary
		(e.g. 9948)				(e.g. cephalopods)
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Page created by: Eli, 20.10.03, last modified by Eli, 26.06.07