Notarius planiceps (Steindachner, 1876)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The flathead sea catfish (Notarius planiceps) is a species of catfish in the family Ariidae. It was described by Franz Steindachner in 1876, originally under the genus Arius. It inhabits rivers, estuaries, and marine waters on the Pacific coast, from Mexico to Panama, at a maximum depth of 60 m (200 ft). It reaches a maximum total length of 60 cm (24 in). It is currently ranked by the IUCN redlist as being of Least Concern, due to a lack of known major threats for the species.
The flathead sea catfish feeds off of benthic invertebrates. Its meat is marketed fresh.
Wikipedia contributors, Flathead sea catfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:21:19.665566+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Notarius planiceps (Steindachner, 1876)
- Name authority
- (Steindachner, 1876)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Siluriformes
- Family
- Ariidae
- Genus
- Notarius
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderSiluriformes
- familyAriidae Bleeker, 1858
- subfamilyAriinae Bleeker, 1858
- genusNotarius Gill, 1863
- speciesNotarius planiceps (Steindachner, 1876)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Notarius. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Notarius armbrusteri Betancur-R. & Acero P., 2006 | AriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Notarius kessleri (Steindachner, 1876) | AriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Notarius osculus (Jordan & Gilbert, 1883) | AriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Notarius bonillai (Miles, 1945) | AriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Notarius cookei (Acero P. & Betancur-R., 2002) | AriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Notarius grandicassis (Valenciennes, 1840) | AriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Notarius lentiginosus (Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1888) | AriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Notarius neogranatensis (Acero P. & Betancur-R., 2002) | AriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Notarius troschelii (Gill, 1863) | AriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Netuma planiceps (Steindachner, 1876) (Steindachner, 1876) | synonym |
| Tachisurus planiceps (Steindachner, 1876) (Steindachner, 1876) | synonym |
| Galeichthys planiceps (Steindachner, 1876) (Steindachner, 1876) | synonym |
| Ariopsis planiceps (Steindachner, 1876) (Steindachner, 1876) | synonym |
| Arius planiceps Steindachner, 1876 Steindachner, 1876 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=281772 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:47S7N. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.