Pylodictis - Native Flathead Catfish

Information Last Reviewed Spring 2007

Taxonomy:

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Actinopterygii

Order: Siluriformes

Family: Ictaluridae

Genus: Pylodictis

Species found in the United States: P. olivaris

$image\pylodictis.jpg$

Identification:

Morphology

Possesses four pairs of barbels around the mouth $image\5.jpg$ $image\1.jpg$
No scales $image\5.jpg$
Stout spines at the origins of the dorsal and pectoral fins $image\5.jpg$
Short adipose fin present that is distinctly separate from the tail fin $image\5.jpg$ $image\1.jpg$ $image\2.jpg$
Tail fin edge rounded or with shallow notch $image\5.jpg$ $image\1.jpg$ $image\2.jpg$

Wide, flat head $image\5.jpg$
Lower jaw projects beyond upper jaw $image\5.jpg$
Small eyes on top of head $image\5.jpg$
Short, rounded anal fin with 13-18 rays $image\5.jpg$ $image\1.jpg$ $image\2.jpg$
Tooth patch on upper jaw with backward extensions $image\5.jpg$ $image\1.jpg$ $image\2.jpg$
Body color yellowish with brown/black mottling $image\2.jpg$
Upper lobe of tail fin with a white tip $image\5.jpg$
Maximum body length is 155 cm $image\5.jpg$

Distinguishing Characteristics

Genus Pylodictis can be distinguished from invasive Loricariid catfishes by:

Loricariids have bony plates that cover the body, one pair of barbels associated with a sucker-like mouth, and a spine at the front of the adipose fin when it is present. $image\5.jpg$ $image\3.jpg$

Preferred Environment:

Inhabits deep, slow-flowing areas (e.g., pools and scour holes) in small to large lowland rivers; often associated with logs, debris dams, and other structures. $image\5.jpg$ $image\2.jpg$ $image\1.jpg$
Also found in lakes and impoundments. $image\5.jpg$ $image\2.jpg$ $image\1.jpg$
Juveniles may occupy sandy or rocky riffles. $image\5.jpg$ $image\2.jpg$

North American Distribution:

Common east of the Rocky Mountains; native to the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins and Gulf Slope drainages from Georgia to New Mexico. $image\5.jpg$ $image\3.jpg$ $image\4.jpg$
Introduced in the western and eastern (Atlantic Slope) United States $image\5.jpg$ $image\3.jpg$

Literature:

Boschung, H.T., and R.L. Mayden. 2004. The Fishes of Alabama. The Smithsonian Institute, Washington. 736 pp.
Etnier, D.A., and W.C. Starnes. 1993. The Fishes of Tennessee. The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville. 681 pp.
Fuller, P.L., L.G. Nico, and J. D. Williams. 1999. Nonindigenous Fishes Introduced into Inland Waters of the United States. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 27, Bethesda, Maryland. 613 pp.
Lee, D.S., C.R. Gilbert, C.H. Hocutt, R.E. Jenkins, D.E. McAllister, and J.R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American Freshwater Fishes. North Carolina Biological Survey, North Carolina. 866 pp.
Page, L.M., and B.M. Burr. 1991. Peterson Field Guide: A Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York. 432 pp.