Barbel Eel Catfish
Plotosus canius
- Usual depth0–5 m
- Water temperature27–30 °C
- Best monthsJanuary
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Octavianti Shanna, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Plotosus canius is a species of eeltail catfish, in the genus Plotosus, native to the Indian Ocean, the western Pacific Ocean and New Guinea.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Plotosus canius”, 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: 44 records
- February: 10 records
- March: 13 records
- April: 17 records
- May: 16 records
- June: 18 records
- July: 13 records
- August: 14 records
- September: 5 records
- October: 11 records
- November: 11 records
- December: 13 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 0–5 m · Deepest record: 18 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 27–30 °C
Photos
(c) Abu Hamas, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) Zakqary Roy, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Ong Jyh Seng, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Barbel Eel Catfish, canine catfish, canine catfish eel, eel catfish, Indian Catfish
Names in 4 more languages
- Spanish
- patuna canina
- French
- balibot canin
- Indonesian
- Sembilang
- Thai
- ปลาดุกทะเล, ปลาดุกทะเลยักษ์
Other scientific names: Plotossus canius, Plotosus horridus, Plotosus multiradiatus, Plotosus unicolor, Plotosus viviparus, Plutosus canius, Potosus viviparus
Similar species
Striped eel catfishPlotosus lineatus
Whitelip CatfishParaplotosus albilabris
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).
- 208 open-data records from 1822 to 2023.
- Species data updated October 30, 2026.
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