Gilded_catfish

Gilded catfish

Gilded catfish

Species of fish


The gilded catfish or jau (Zungaro zungaro) is a South American catfish (order Siluriformes) of the family Pimelodidae. It is also known as manguruyu or black manguruyu.[1]

Quick Facts Scientific classification, Binomial name ...

Taxonomy

By some sources, it is the only species of the monotypic genus Zungaro.[2] However, some sources list other species as valid, such as Zungaro jahu.[3] This species may be referred to by one of its synonyms, Brachyplatystoma flavicans.[4] This species contains two subspecies, Z. z. mangurus and Z. z. zungaro.[5]

Distribution and habitat

They are sexually mature upon reaching 10 kg (22 lb) weight.[4] This fish native to the Orinoco and Amazon basins; in the Amazon, this fish is found quite upstream, in the main bed of the big tributaries with muddy bottoms.[4]

Description

This fish reaches 140 cm (55 in) in total length, and specimens measuring 130 cm (51 in) and weighing 50 kg (110 lb) are not rare.[4] These fish are mainly piscivorous, hunt at night, and sometimes go into flood-prone areas of rivers. Some migrations in pursuit of migrating Triportheus and Anodus have been reported. The nursery ground is at the mouths of rivers.[4]


References

  1. "Common names of Zungaro zungaro". fishbase.se.
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2007). Species of Zungaro in FishBase. May 2007 version.
  3. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2012). "Zungaro zungaro" in FishBase. February 2012 version.

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