Clarias macrocephalus Günther, 1864
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 broadhead catfish (Clarias macrocephalus) is an economically important air-breathing catfish that is a native of Southeast Asia. The fish is farmed in ponds for use in human consumption in countries such as Thailand (Thai: ปลาดุกอุย) and the Philippines. However, native populations now face extinction due to man-made activities and genetic introgression due to interbreeding with escaped aquaculture hybrids.
In Thailand both this fish and the walking catfish (Clarias batrachus) are known as Pla Duk (Thai: ปลาดุก). They are common inexpensive food items, prepared in a variety of ways, being often offered by street vendors, especially barbecued or fried.
Wikipedia contributors, Broadhead catfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:21:43.937479+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Clarias macrocephalus Günther, 1864
- Name authority
- Günther, 1864
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Siluriformes
- Family
- Clariidae
- Genus
- Clarias
- 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
- familyClariidae Bonaparte, 1845
- genusClarias Scopoli, 1777
- speciesClarias macrocephalus Günther, 1864
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Clarias. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Clarias albopunctatus Nichols & La Monte, 1953 | ClariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarias buthupogon Sauvage, 1879 | ClariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarias cataractus (Fowler, 1939) | ClariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarias dumerilii Steindachner, 1866 | ClariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarias pseudonieuhofii Sudarto, Teugels & Pouyaud, 2004 | ClariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarias salae Hubrecht, 1881 | ClariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarias dussumieri Valenciennes, 1840 | ClariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarias longior Boulenger, 1907 | ClariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarias olivaceus Fowler, 1904 | ClariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarias dayi Hora, 1936 | ClariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarias buettikoferi Steindachner, 1894 | ClariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarias dhonti (Boulenger, 1920) | ClariidaeChordata | 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.
- Günther, A. (1864). Catalogue of the fishes in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Physostomi, containing the families Siluridae, Characinidae, Haplochitonidae, Sternoptychidae, Scopelidae, Stomiatidae in the collection of the British Museum. British Museum, London, v. 5: i–xxii + 1–455. 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:VRCY. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.