Ariopsis assimilis
Maya Sea Catfish
Collection Details
Specimens
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Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Siluriformes (Catfishes)
Ariidae (Sea Catfishes)
Ariopsis
Ariopsis assimilis (Maya Sea Catfish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (Carpenter, K.E. (ed.) 2002. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. FAO, Rome.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
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Synonymy
Arius assimilis Günther, 1864; Galeichthys assimilis (Günther,
1864) / None.
Characters
Head rounded, only slightly flattened above; exposed head shield well visible, very
rugose, extending anteriorly to opposite eyes, its supraoccipital process broad at base, narrow and
truncated posteriorly, with a very slight median keel; predorsal plate moderately long, rugose and
subshield-shaped; a very short narrow fleshy groove in median depression of head f alling well short
of eyes. Snout rounded transversely. Mouth inferior. Teeth on palate villi form or granular, in 2 pairs of patches,
the sm all anterior patches contiguous with the outer large elliptical posterior ones, patches in anterior pair nar-
rowly separated from one a nother. Three pairs of barbels (1 maxillary and 2 mental) around mouth, the
maxillary barbels just reaching to pectoral fins. A few tiny gill rakers on rear surfaces of first 2 arches,
chiefly confined to the upper limb; total number of anterior gill rakers on first arch 16 to 18; total num-
ber of anterior gill rakers on second arch 18 to 22. Dorsal fin with a strong, serrated, erectile spine. A
well-developed adipose fin present. Pectoral fins with a strong, serrated, erectile spine; soft rays in pectoral
fins usu ally 10. Number of vertebrae free from Weberian complex 43 to 46. Colour: medium yellowish
brown above, lighter below.
Body shape: fusiform / normal. This species is distinguished from its congeners by the following characters: gill rakers on the first and second gill arches 31-36 rarely 37, on first gill arch only 14-18 rakers; osseous medial groove absent; fleshy medial groove of neurocranium conspicuous or inconspicuous, but never surpassing posterior margin of eyes; lateral margin of sphenotic straight, as wide anteriorly as medially; pterotic lateral margin markedly convex, sometimes angled; mouth 10.5-13.2% SL; cephalic shield at frontals area 8.8-10.1% SL; mesethmoid median portion narrow; mesethmoid medial notch narrow and deep; longer pectoral-fin spine 18.2-22.6% SL; external posterior branch of lateral ethmoid columnar and thin; fenestra delimited by mesethmoid and lateral ethmoid conspicuous (Ref. 116660).
Distribution
Caribbean coast of Central Amer-
ica from Yucatán (Mexico) to Panama.
Habitat Associations
Found primarily
in fresh water, but also in turbid brackish waters
over muddy bottoms in river estuaries and lakes. Separate statistics are not reported for this spe-
cies; caught mainly with gill nets (sometimes
considered a nuisance because of the spines),
seines, and on hook-and-line.
Biology
Maximum about 35 cm; common to 25 cm.
Consumed mostly fresh.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2018-08-19. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial.
References
Marceniuk, A.P. and N.A. Menezes (2007) Systematics of the family Ariidae (Ostariophysi, Siluriformes), with a redefinition of the genera. Zootaxa 1416:1-126.
Marceniuk, A.P., A.P. Acero, R. Cooke and R. Betancur-R (2017) Taxonomic revision of the new world genus Ariopsis Gill (Siluriformes: Ariidae), with description of two new species. Zootaxa 4290(1):1-42.
Comments On Ariopsis assimilis