Striped eel catfish

Plotosus lineatus

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth2–33 m
Water temperature18–30 °C
Best monthsMarch, April, and May
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) neilfws, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Plotosus lineatus, commonly known as the striped eel catfish, is a species of catfish belonging to the eeltail family Plotosidae. Like most other members of the genus, this species possesses highly venomous spines that can be used to sting when threatened; the venom can cause mild to severe symptoms in humans. This species is native to the Indo-Pacific but is now present in the Mediterranean via Lessepsian migration through the Suez Canal.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Plotosus lineatus”, 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: 285 records
February: 288 records
March: 378 records
April: 440 records
May: 393 records
June: 290 records
July: 260 records
August: 247 records
September: 284 records
October: 290 records
November: 333 records
December: 336 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 2–33 m · Deepest record: 142.5 m

0–10 m: 107 records
10–20 m: 191 records
20–30 m: 122 records
30–40 m: 28 records
40–50 m: 13 records
50–60 m: 5 records
60–70 m: 4 records
70–80 m: 6 records
80–90 m: 3 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 18–30 °C

16–18 °C: 1 records
18–20 °C: 0 records
20–22 °C: 45 records
22–24 °C: 73 records
24–26 °C: 14 records
26–28 °C: 48 records
28–30 °C: 56 records

Photos

(c) Susan Prior, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Sula Vanderplank, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) shahar chaikin, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) portioid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Susan Prior, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Auradyme, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Striped eel catfish, Striped catfish, striped eel catfish, striped eel-catfish

Names in 5 more languages

German: Gestreifter korallenwels
Spanish: patuna rayada
French: balibot rayé, Balibot rayé, Poisson-chat rayé, poisson-chat-rayé
Japanese: Minamigonzui, ミナミゴンズイ
Simplified Chinese: 斜門, 沙毛, 海土虱, 線紋鰻鯰, 鰻鯰

Other scientific names: Platystacus anguillaris, Plotoseus ikapor, Plotossus anguillaris, Plotosus anguillaris, Plotosus arab, Plotosus brevibarbus, Plotosus castaneoides, Plotosus castaneus, Plotosus flavolineatus, Plotosus ikapor, Plotosus marginatus, Plotosus thunbergianus, Plotosus vittatus, Silurus arab, Silurus lineatus

Similar species

Barbel Eel Catfish
Plotosus canius
Whitelip Catfish
Paraplotosus 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).
2,367 open-data records from 1787 to 2025.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

Log what you see on your next dive

The free DiveHive diver app keeps your logbook with every sighting and shows what lives at the site you dive next.

Join the waitlist