Blue Catfish

Neoarius graeffei

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth3–4 m
Water temperature17–29 °C
Best monthsJanuary, June, and October
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: no rights reserved, uploaded by Richard Fuller · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

About this species

Neoarius graeffei, or blue salmon catfish, is a species of catfish found in freshwater rivers of Australia and Papua New Guinea. This species is most identifiable by its large, shark-like dorsal fin that is led by a poisonous spine. Like other catfish, the blue salmon catfish is known to use electrical pulses to sense prey in the water. This prey sensing mechanism may be the reason that these catfish are known to eat the land dwelling hopping mouse at a high rate.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Neoarius graeffei”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 247 records
February: 214 records
March: 143 records
April: 147 records
May: 227 records
June: 286 records
July: 230 records
August: 157 records
September: 205 records
October: 265 records
November: 233 records
December: 207 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 3–4 m · Deepest record: 287 m

0–10 m: 2,048 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 1 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 17–29 °C

16–18 °C: 1 records
18–20 °C: 0 records
20–22 °C: 0 records
22–24 °C: 20 records
24–26 °C: 0 records
26–28 °C: 2 records
28–30 °C: 7 records

Photos

no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Richard Shirky, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Lachlan Copeland, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Patrick Connolly, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) James H, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) James H, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Patrick Connolly, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Blue Catfish, Blue Salmon Catfish, Fork-tail Catfish, Forktail Catfish, Lesser Salmon Catfish, Salmon Catfish, Smaller Salmon Catfish

Other scientific names: Ariopsis graeffei, Arius australis, Arius curtisii, Arius graeffei, Hexanematichthys australis

Similar species

Neoarius hainesi
Sawspine Catfish
Neoarius pectoralis
Sea Barbel
Galeichthys feliceps
Giant Sea Catfish
Netuma thalassina
Black-spotted Seacatfish
Arius maculatus
Shovelnose sea catfish
Arius subrostratus

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
2,777 open-data records from 1940 to 2024.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

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