Channel catfish

Channel catfish
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Siluriformes
Family: Ictaluridae
Genus: Ictalurus
Species:
I. punctatus
Binomial name
Ictalurus punctatus
(Rafinesque, 1818)
Distribution map
Synonyms
  • Silurus punctatus Rafinesque, 1818

The channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), known informally as the "channel cat", is North America's most abundant catfish species. It is the official fish of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Tennessee. It is the most fished species of catfish in the United States, with around 8 million anglers targeting them per year. The popularity of channel catfish for food has contributed to the rapid expansion of this species' aquaculture in the United States.[2][3] Europe, Asia, and South America have also widely introduced it, and many countries legally consider it an invasive species.[4][5][6]

  1. ^ NatureServe (2013). "Ictalurus punctatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T202680A18236665. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T202680A18236665.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Carlander KD (1969). Handbook of freshwater fishery biology. Vol. 1. Ames, Iowa: The Iowa State University Press.
  3. ^ David A., Patterson (2010). Freshwater fish of the Northeast. UPNE.
  4. ^ Engle, Carole (22 October 2013). "Ictalurus punctatus (channel catfish)". Invasive Species Compendium. Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Ictalurus punctatus". Invasive Species of Japan. National Institute for Environmental Studies. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  6. ^ "Ictalurus punctatus" (PDF). Catálogo Español de Especies Exóticas Invasoras. Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico. September 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2020.