Prominent Catfish, Euristhmus sandrae Murdy & Ferraris 2006
Sandra's Catfish, Euristhmus sandrae. Source: Sue Morrison / Western Australian Museum. License: CC By Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
Summary:
A uniform brown, grey, tan, or whitish eeltail catfish with violet-black fins, an elongate first dorsal fin, eight branched pectoral-fin rays, and four pairs of barbels in the mouth region.
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2025, Euristhmus sandrae in Fishes of Australia, accessed 09 Jun 2026, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3303
Prominent Catfish, Euristhmus sandrae Murdy & Ferraris 2006
More Info
|
Photo Rights |
x |
|
Distribution |
Endemic to northwestern Western Australia, from Exmouth Gulf and south of Rowley Shoals. |
|
Features |
Dorsal fin II, 4 + 102-114; Anal fin 100-111; Pectoral fin I, 8; Pelvic fin 12; Vertebrae 19-20 + 76-78. Head broad, slightly depressed; body long, tapering, compressed; second-dorsal and anal fins confluent with pointed caudal fin; Vomerine tooth patch crescentic, only two rows of teeth in midline. Nasal barbel reaching almost to nape. Maxillary barbel not reaching opercle in holotype but extending to middle of operculum in paratype. Lateral-line complete, extending to caudal fin. Four pairs of barbels located in the mouth region: nasal, maxillary, and 2 pairs of mandibular barbels. |
|
Size |
|
|
Similar Species |
Differs from congeners in having only 8 branched pectoral-fin rays (except for one specimen of Euristhmus nudiceps), the greatest ratio between the preanal length and head length 2.34–2.58), the greatest ratio between the eye length and head length (0.226–0.269), and the least ratio between snout to first-dorsal-fin origin and preanal length (0.486–0.491). |
|
Etymology |
The specific name sandrae, honours Sandra J. Raredon of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, U.S.A., who contributed greatly to this study and others undertaken by the authors. |
|
Species Citation |
Euristhmus sandrae Murdy & Ferraris 2006, The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory 22: 88, figs 2E, 10. Type locality Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia, 21°42'S, 114°48'E, depth 9 m. |
|
Author |
Bray, D.J. 2025 |
|
Resources |
Prominent Catfish, Euristhmus sandrae Murdy & Ferraris 2006
References
Ferraris, C.J. 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418: 1–628
Murdy, E.O. & Ferraris, C.J., Jr 2006. A revision of the marine eel-tailed catfish genus Euristhmus (Teleostei: Siluriformes: Plotosidae). The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory 22: 77-90 https://doi.org/10.5962/p.287425
