Sawspine Catfish
Neoarius pectoralis
- Usual depth3–4 m
- Water temperature27–29 °C
- Best monthsOctober
- How commonRare
About this species
Neoarius pectoralis, the sawspine catfish or sawspined catfish, is a species of catfish in the family Ariidae. It was described by Patricia J. Kailola in 2000, originally under the genus Arius. It inhabits marine and brackish waters in Australia, Irian Jaya, and possibly also Papua New Guinea. It reaches a maximum fork length of 39.3 cm (15.5 in).
Text from the Wikipedia article “Neoarius pectoralis”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 0 records
- February: 1 records
- March: 0 records
- April: 1 records
- May: 2 records
- June: 0 records
- July: 0 records
- August: 1 records
- September: 2 records
- October: 4 records
- November: 2 records
- December: 1 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 3–4 m · Deepest record: 4 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 27–29 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Sawspine Catfish, Sawspined Catfish
Other scientific names: Ariopsis pectoralis, Arius pectoralis
Similar species
Blue CatfishNeoarius graeffei
Sea BarbelGaleichthys feliceps
Giant Sea CatfishNetuma thalassina
Black-spotted SeacatfishArius maculatus
Shovelnose sea catfishArius 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).
- 33 open-data records from 1972 to 2012.
- Species data updated November 4, 2026.
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