Teleostei (teleosts) >
Siluriformes (Catfishes) >
Ariidae (Sea catfishes) > Ariinae
Eponymy: Bloch did not identify whom he was naming this fish after, but a probable candidate is Count Ewald Friedrich von Herzberg (1725–1795), a distinguished Prussian statesman and savant and one of Bloch’s sponsors. (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Bloch.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; freshwater; brackish; demersal. Tropical
South America: Caribbean and Atlantic draining rivers and estuaries from Colombia to Brazil.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 50.8, range 45 - 56.5 cm
Max length : 94.2 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 10652); 62.5 cm TL (female); common length : 30.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3265); max. published weight: 1.5 kg (Ref. 5217)
Body shape (shape guide): elongated; Cross section: circular.
Adults occur in turbid estuaries, mangrove-lined lagoons and lower parts of rivers being very tolerant to changes in salinity. Found on shallow soft bottoms (Ref. 5217). Feed on a large variety of bottom-living and pelagic organisms including those found among the roots of mangroves. Reproduction occurs between September and December. A female lays 20-30 eggs, with a diameter of 10-12 mm. Males incubate the eggs in their mouth (Ref. 35381).
Females reach maturity at a younger age than males and grow faster. The male incubates 28-40 eggs in the mouth and 200-400 eggs that are fixed in a glutinous mass on its head. Incubation takes 10-12 days. After 50-60 days fully functional young (6-6.5 cm TL) are released.
Chacon, J.O., M.I.M. Alves and M.S.C. de Mesquita, 1994. Alguns aspectos da reprodução do bagre branco, Selenapsis herzbergii (Bloch 1794), Pisces: Ostariophysi, Siluriformes, Ariidae. Bol. Tec. DNOCS. 47/52(1/2):43-78. (Ref. 10652)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Traumatogenic (Ref. 58010)
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial
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