Catfish

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Catfish Temporal range: Campanian–present[1] PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Possible earlier Late Cretaceous records[2][3]
Diversity of catfishes (left to right, top to bottom): Silurus glanis (Siluridae), Ictalurus furcatus (Ictaluridae), Synodontis eupterus (Mochokidae), Trichomycterus ytororo (Trichomycteridae), Mystus atrifasciatus (Bagridae), Aspidoras mephisto (Callichthyidae), Cetopsis coecutiens (Cetopsidae), Noturus gyrinus (Ictaluridae), Oreoglanis hponkanensis (Sisoridae), Farlowella vittata (Loricariidae)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
(unranked):	Otophysi
Order:	Siluriformes G. Cuvier, 1817
Type species
Silurus glanis Linnaeus, 1758
Families[4]
See text

Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes /sɪˈljʊərɪfɔːrmiːz/ or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not all catfish have prominent barbels or "whiskers", with some seemingly not having them. Siluriformes as a whole are scale-less, with neither the armour-plated nor the naked species having scales. This order of fish are defined by features of the skull and swimbladder. Catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia, the wels catfish of Eurasia, and the piraíba of South America, to detritivorous and scavenging bottom feeders, down to tiny ectoparasitic species known as the candirus.

In the Southern United States, catfish species may be known by a variety of slang names, such as "mud cat", "polliwogs", or "chuckleheads".^[5] These nicknames are not standardized, so one area may call a bullhead catfish by the nickname "chucklehead", while in another state or region, that nickname refers to the blue catfish.^[6]

Catfish as a group are of considerable commercial importance; many of the larger species are farmed or fished for food, such as the Pangasius (a shark catfish) and Clarias (like the walking catfish). Many of the smaller species, such as members of the genus Corydoras, are important in the aquarium hobby.