Plotosus lineatus

Plotosus lineatus
Adult Plotosus lineatus in Zanzibar, Tanzania
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Siluriformes
Family:	Plotosidae
Genus:	Plotosus
Species:	P. lineatus
Binomial name
Plotosus lineatus (Thunberg, 1787)
Synonyms
Silurus lineatus Thunberg, 1787 Silurus arab Forsskål, 1775 Platystacus anguillaris Bloch, 1794 Plotosus anguillaris (Bloch, 1794) Plotosus thunbergianus Lacepède, 1803 Plotosus marginatus Anonymous [Bennett], 1830 Plotoseus ikapor Lesson, 1831 Plotosus vittatus Swainson, 1839 Plotosus castaneus Valenciennes, 1840 Plotosus lineatus Valenciennes, 1840 Plotosus castaneoides Bleeker, 1851 Plotosus arab Bleeker, 1862 Plotosus flavolineatus Whitley, 1941 Plotosus brevibarbus Bessednov, 1967

Plotosus lineatus, commonly known as the striped eel catfish, is a species of eeltail catfishes belonging to the family Plotosidae. Like most other members of the genus Plotosus, they possesses highly venomous spines that they can use to sting when threatened. The venom can cause mild to severe symptoms in humans. P. lineatus is native to the Indo-Pacific but has become introduced to the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal as a Lessepsian migrant.