Megalodoras uranoscopus (Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1888)
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 giant talking catfish or giant raphael catfish (Megalodoras uranoscopus) is a species of thorny catfish that is native to the Amazon Basin in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. This species grows to a length of 60 centimetres (24 in) SL (for a female specimen) and a maximum weight of 4.6 kilograms (10 lb). These fish are harvested in local commercial fisheries.
Wikipedia contributors, Megalodoras uranoscopus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:09:18.484182+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Megalodoras uranoscopus (Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1888)
- Name authority
- (Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1888)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Siluriformes
- Family
- Doradidae
- Genus
- Megalodoras
- 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
- familyDoradidae Bleeker, 1858
- genusMegalodoras Eigenmann, 1925
- speciesMegalodoras uranoscopus (Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1888)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Hoplodoras uranoscopus (Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1888) (Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1888) | synonym |
| Megalodoras irwini Eigenmann, 1925 Eigenmann, 1925 | synonym |
| Oxydoras huberi Steindachner, 1911 Steindachner, 1911 | synonym |
| Doras uranoscopus Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1888 Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1888 | synonym |
| Doras libertatis Miranda Ribeiro, 1912 Miranda Ribeiro, 1912 | synonym |
| Megalodoras libertatis (Miranda Ribeiro, 1912) (Miranda Ribeiro, 1912) | 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=1016385 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:7383M. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.