Whitelip Catfish

Paraplotosus albilabris

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth0–8 m
Water temperature20–29 °C
Best monthsNovember
How commonRare

All species

Photo credit: (c) Nick Tobler (Cowturtle), some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 21 records
February: 17 records
March: 18 records
April: 23 records
May: 18 records
June: 14 records
July: 10 records
August: 25 records
September: 15 records
October: 22 records
November: 58 records
December: 9 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–8 m · Deepest record: 19 m

0–10 m: 59 records
10–20 m: 6 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 20–29 °C

18–20 °C: 2 records
20–22 °C: 57 records
22–24 °C: 19 records
24–26 °C: 17 records
26–28 °C: 48 records
28–30 °C: 53 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Whitelip Catfish, whitelipped eel catfish

Other scientific names: Copidoglanis longifilis, Paraplotosus albilabrus, Plotosus albilabris, Plotosus macrophthalmus

Similar species

Striped eel catfish
Plotosus lineatus
Barbel Eel Catfish
Plotosus canius

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.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
268 open-data records from 1929 to 2014.
Species data updated October 30, 2026.

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