raspfin sea catfish
Cathorops spixii (Agassiz, 1829)
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.
Taxonomic Classification: Animalia--Ariidae--Cathorops spixii. Common Name: Sea catfish
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Open encyclopedia reference
Cathorops spixii, the Madamango sea catfish, raspfin sea catfish or spring cuirass, is a species of catfish in the family Ariidae. It was described by Louis Agassiz in 1829. It is a tropical, marine and brackish water-dwelling catfish which occurs between Colombia and Brazil. It inhabits a depth range between 1 and 50 m (3.3 and 164.0 ft). It reaches a maximum total length of 30 cm (12 in), more commonly reaching a TL of 20 cm (7.9 in).
Cathorops spixii feeds on a variety of crustaceans, including amphipods, copepods, isopods; as well as bony fish and benthic invertebrates. It is preyed upon by Arius parkeri and Elops saurus. It is marketed commercially.
The species epithet refers to biologist Johann Baptist von Spix.
Wikipedia contributors, Cathorops spixii; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:31:51.724973+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cathorops spixii (Agassiz, 1829)
- Name authority
- (Agassiz, 1829)
- Common name
- raspfin sea catfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Siluriformes
- Family
- Ariidae
- Genus
- Cathorops
- 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
- genusCathorops Jordan & Gilbert, 1883
- speciesCathorops spixii (Agassiz, 1829)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Cathorops. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Cathorops liropus (Bristol, 1897) | AriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| congo sea catfishCathorops fuerthii (Steindachner, 1876) | AriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cathorops taylori (Hildebrand, 1925) | AriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| estuarine sea catfishCathorops aguadulce (Meek, 1904) | AriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cathorops arenatus (Valenciennes, 1840) | AriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cathorops tuyra (Meek & Hildebrand, 1923) | AriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| dark sea catfishCathorops melanopus (Günther, 1864) | AriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cathorops belizensis Marceniuk & Betancur-R., 2008 | AriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cathorops dasycephalus (Günther, 1864) | AriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cathorops agassizii (Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1888) | AriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cathorops nuchalis (Günther, 1864) | AriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cathorops wayuu Betancur-R., Acero P. & Marceniuk, 2012 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Pimelodus albidus Spix & Agassiz, 1829 Spix & Agassiz, 1829 | synonym |
| Arius spixi (Agassiz, 1829) (Agassiz, 1829) | synonym |
| Arius spixii (Agassiz, 1829) (Agassiz, 1829) | synonym |
| Arius nigricans Valenciennes, 1834 Valenciennes, 1834 | synonym |
| Pimelodus spixii Agassiz, 1829 Agassiz, 1829 | synonym |
| Cathorops spixi (Agassiz, 1829) (Agassiz, 1829) | 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=280049 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.
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:5XG5Y. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.