Cathorops mapale Betancur-R. & Acero P., 2005
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 Mapale sea catfish (Cathorops mapale), is a species of sea catfish in the family Ariidae. It is a tropical fish which is known from Colombia to west Venezuela, where it typically inhabits freshwaters, brackish, in coastal lagoons and near-shore marine waters. It reaches a maximum standard length of 30.6 cm (12.0 in).
Wikipedia contributors, Cathorops mapale; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:15:24.563504+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cathorops mapale Betancur-R. & Acero P., 2005
- Name authority
- Betancur-R. & Acero P., 2005
- 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: no · Freshwater: yes · 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 mapale Betancur-R. & Acero P., 2005
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 |
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.
- Betancur-R, R., & Arturo, A. P. (2005). Description of Cathorops mapale, a new species of sea catfish (Siluriformes: Ariidae) from the Colombian Caribbean, based on morphological and mitochondrial evidence. Zootaxa, 1045. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.1045.1.4 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:5XG67. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.