- Classification
- ACTINOPTERYGII
- SILURIFORMES
- ARIIDAE
- Sciades
- leptaspis
Boofhead Catfish, Sciades leptaspis (Bleeker 1862)
Boofhead Catfish, Sciaedes leptaspis. Source: Freshwater Fish Group & Fish Health Unit, Murdoch University. License: All rights reserved
The Boofhead Catfish was previously referred to as Neoarius leptaspis.
Boofhead Catfish, Sciades leptaspis (Bleeker 1862)
More Info
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Distribution |
King River, WA, to Cape York, QLD, including Horn Island, QLD (11°S, 142°E). Found elsewhere in New Guinea. |
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Features |
Dorsal fin I, 7; Anal fin 16-20; Pectoral fin I, 9-11. Body robust, elongate; anterior profile straight, moderately steep, elevated slightly before dorsal fin; snout rounded to squarish; mouth moderately broad and curved; head not greatly flattened; upper lip moderately fleshy, extending just beyond mouth gape; eyes lateral and rounded; maxillary barbel extending well past head, often beyond base of pectoral fin (22-51% SL); gill rakers on first arch 13-22; palatal teeth villiform, in transverse band of 4 rounded or oval patches, inner patches only slightly smaller than outer; head shield extensive and finely granulated. Scales absent, covered in smooth skin. Pelvic fin shape variable, in males base narrow, fin rays rarely reaching anal fin origin; in females base broad, inner elements become thickened and develop a pad or hook with sexual maturity. |
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Size |
To around 60 cm, commonly to 35 cm SL |
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Colour |
Dark grey, blackish, bronze or dark copper with vertical rows of tiny golden spots across back and upper sides, a cream to white belly and a white margin on dorsal, anal and caudal fins. |
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Feeding |
Omnivore - feeds on fishes, arthropods, plant material and detritus. |
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Biology |
Breeds between September to January in coastal lagoons and flooded swamps. Males incubate the eggs in their buccal cavity until hatching and guard the fry for around 4 weeks afterwards. Male usually incubates up to 60 large, yolky eggs. Hatch after 2-4 weeks at temperatures up to 32° and commence feeding soon after. Juveniles from 6 weeks feed readily on live zooplankton and the yolk sac is completely absorbed by 6-8 weeks (60 mm TL). |
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Species Citation |
Hexanematichthys leptaspis Bleeker P. (1862) Atlas Ichthyologique des Indes Orientales Néerlandais, publié sous les auspices du Gouvernement colonial néerlandais. Tome 2. Siluroïdes, Charcoïdes et Hétérobranchoïdes. Amsterdam: Fréd. Müller 112 pp. South-west New Guinea. |
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Author |
Gomon, M.F. & Bray, D.J. 2020 |
Boofhead Catfish, Sciades leptaspis (Bleeker 1862)
References
Allen, G.R. 1989. Freshwater Fishes of Australia. Neptune, New Jersey : T.F.H. Publications 240 pp., 63 pls.
Allen, G.R., Midgley, S.H. & Allen, M. 2002. Field Guide to the Freshwater Fishes of Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 394 pp.
Allen, G.R., Storey, A.W. & Yarrao, M. 2008. Freshwater Fishes of the Fly River Papua New Guinea. Tabubil, Papua New Guinea : Ok Tedi Mining 216 pp.
Bleeker, P. 1862. Atlas Ichthyologique des Indes Orientales Néerlandaises, publié sous les auspices du Gouvernement colonial néerlandais. Tome 2. Siluroïdes, Charcoïdes et Hétérobranchoïdes. Amsterdam : Fréd. Müller 112 pp. pls 49-101.
Burgess, W.E. 1989. An Atlas of Freshwater and Marine Catfishes — a preliminary survey of the Siluriformes. Neptune City, New Jersey : T.F.H. Publications 783 pp.
Ferraris, C.J. 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418: 1–628.
Hitchcock, G., Finn, M.A., Burrows, D.W., & Johnson, J.W. 2012. Fishes from fresh and brackish waters of islands in Torres Strait, far north Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 56(1): 14-24.
Kailola, P.J. 1999. Family Ariidae. pp. 1827-1879 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 3 pp. 1397-2068.
Kailola, P.J. 2004. A phylogenetic exploration of the catfish family Ariidae (Otophysi: Siluriformes). The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory 20: 87-166
Larson, H.K. & Martin, K.C. 1990. Freshwater Fishes of the Northern Territory. Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences Handbook Series Number 1. Darwin : Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences 102 pp. 73 figs.
Marceniuk, A.P. & Menezes, N.A. 2007. Systematics of the family Ariidae (Ostariophysi, Siluriformes), with a redefinition of the genera. Zootaxa 1416: 1-126.
McDowall, R.M. (ed.) 1980. Freshwater Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Sydney : A.H. & A.W. Reed 208 pp., figs, 32 pls.
Merrick, J.R. & Schmida, G.E. 1984. Australian Freshwater Fishes Biology and Management. Sydney : J.R. Merrick 409 pp. figs 280 col. figs.
Pusey, B.J., Kennard, M.J. & Bird, J. 2000. Fishes of the dune fields of Cape Flattery, northern Queensland and other dune systems in north-eastern Australia. Ichthyological Explorations of Freshwaters 11(1): 65-74.
Taylor, W.R. 1964. Fishes of Arnhem Land. Records of the American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land 4: 44-307 figs 1-68
