SCOTCAT.COM

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Paraplotosus butleri Allen, 1998

Image contributors to this species:

Aqua Research & Monitoring Services (1) Tony Ayling (1) Gary Gong (1 movie)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

Description: Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 115-130; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 87 - 102. Differs from Paraplotosus albilabris and P. muelleri in having a tall, sail-like first dorsal fin and extremely long nasal barbels, which extend posteriorly to the basal third of the pectoral fin or beyond. Colouration: Small juveniles have a unique colouration consisting of a black head and body with a broad white to yellow margin on the first dorsal fin and continuous dorsal-caudal-anal fin. Adults are entirely black. Habitat: Restricted to coastal reefs. Secretive, found in reef holes or under large rocks. Presumably nocturnal. Diet: Feeds on gastropod mollusks and crustaceans.

Common Name:

Sailfin Catfish

Synonyms:

None

Family:

Plotosidae

Distribution:

Indo-West Pacific: Northern Australia. Type locality: Near Broome, ca. 17º58'S, 122º14'E, Western Australia.

Size:

33.0cm. (13¼ins)

Temp:

24-28°C (75-83°F)

p.H.

7.0-8.5.

Reference:

Allen, G.R., 1998. A review of the marine catfish genus Paraplotosus (Plotosidae) with the description of a new species from north-western Australia. Raf. Bull. Zool. 46(1):123-134.
Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2023. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, ( 02/2023 ).

Family: Plotosidae Back to Ident-A-Cat Click on Thumbnails

Paraplotosus butleri
Adult with young

Paraplotosus butleri

Paraplotosus butleri (movie)
Provides body cleaning service for Pseudanthias squamipinnis

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