Redtail catfish
| Redtail catfish Temporal range: Miocene - Recent |
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| Phractocephalus hemioliopterus | |
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Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Pimelodidae |
| Genus: |
Phractocephalus Agassiz, 1829 |
| Species: | P. hemioliopterus |
| Binomial name | |
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Phractocephalus hemioliopterus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) |
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| Synonyms | |
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The redtail catfish, Phractocephalus hemioliopterus, is a pimelodid (long-whiskered) catfish. In Venezuela it is known as cajaro and in Brazil it is known as pirarara. It is the only extant species of the genus Phractocephalus. This fish is common in the aquarium trade, although its massive adult size makes it unsuitable for all but the largest aquariums.
Although the redtail catfish is the only living representative of this genus, there are other members that date back to the upper Miocene and only are known from fossil remains. P. nassi was described in 2003, and is from Urumaco, Venezuela. Another undescribed member is known to exist from Acre, Brazil. This genus has a minimum age of about 13.5 million years.
Phractocephalus hemioliopterus can reach about 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) in length and about 80 kg (180 lb) in weight. These colorful large catfishes have a brownish back, with yellow sides and characteristic orange-red dorsal fin and caudal fin (hence the common name). It has a pair of barbels on the upper jaw and two pairs on the lower jaw.
The redtail catfish is native to the Amazon, Orinoco, and Essequibo river basins of South America, in Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil. It is found only in fresh water and inhabits larger rivers, streams and lakes.
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