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CATFISH
CATFISH
There are over 2000 species of catfish (order: Siluriformes),
thus making them one of the largest fish orders.
They vary greatly in body shape, pattern, and scale configuration.
Catfish
come from all types of environments in both fresh and salt water. Catfish belong to 34 families.
Thirteen families are covered in this
book. They include: the Aspredinidae (Banjo catfish), the Ariidae (Sea catfish), the Auchenipteridae (Driftwood
catfish), the Callichthyidae (Armored catfish), the Chacidae (Squarehead catfish), the Doradidae (Thorny catfish),
the Loricariidae (Suckermouth armored catfish), the Malapteruridae (Electric catfish), the Mochocidae (Naked catfish),
the Pangassidae, the Pimelodidae (Flat-nosed catfish), the Schilbeidae (Glass catfish), and the Siluridae (Old-world
catfish).
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Recent news
Mangroves are key to healthy fisheries, finds study
(7/21/2008) Mangroves serve as a critical nursery for young marine life and therefore play an important role in the health of fisheries and the economic well-being of fishermen, report researchers writing in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Marine no-take zones are succeeding beyond expectations
(7/16/2008) Two recent reports show that marine no-take zones, where fishing is completely prohibited, are helping to rejuvenate commercial species faster than expected.
The global rich are eating the poor's fish: new report shows tropical fish catch gravely under-estimated
(7/10/2008) After a week of bad news regarding marine life — it was reported that half of U.S. coral reefs are in fair to poor condition and one-third of all coral species are threatened globally — there is still more: a study of twenty tropical islands showed that recreational and subsistence fishing has gone almost completely unreported from 1950 to 2004. In fifteen of twenty cases the fish take was at least doubled when local fish catches were added, and in the most extreme case, American Samoa, the amount of fish collected was 17 times what was previously recorded.
Census of marine life opens with 122,000 species
(7/1/2008) Discovering a new species can be the highlight of a biologist's career. Yet once a species enters the formal literature, complications may develop. The systen has been especially problematic because for centuries biologists have lacked the tools to construct a full and flexible list of the world's innumerable species. Using the Internet and hundreds of scientists around the world, the Census of Marine Life is attempting to take on this monumental task.
Large shark populations fall 97% in the Mediterranean
(6/12/2008) Populations of some shark species in the Mediterranean have plunged by more than 97 percent over the past 200 years, report researchers writing in the journal conservation Biology. Several species are at risk of extinction.
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