THE ANIMAL FILES

Wels catfish

Silurus glanis

Six barbels surround a broad mouth that explores a varied menu.

The wels catfish has an elongated body, a small dorsal fin and a long anal fin. Around the mouth, two long upper barbels and four shorter lower ones give its face the familiar catfish outline.[1]

Follow the evidence ↓
Wels catfish
Image: Dieter Florian (To contact the author, ask the uploader or take a look at tauchshop-florian.de.) · Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
Barbels
Two long upper and four shorter lower[1]
Shelter
Submerged timber and bottom hollows[1]
Parental care
Males guard eggs at the nest[1]

Senses in dim water

Hearing and chemical senses contribute to finding prey, alongside vision adapted for low light. A large mouth takes whole prey. This combination supports feeding when the animal is active in dim conditions.[1]

Food depends on opportunity

Recorded foods include worms, insects, crustaceans and fish. Some introduced populations have used unusual local foods, including birds or dead clams. Those observations demonstrate local flexibility, not a menu every catfish follows.[1]

A shelter and a guarded nest

Large lakes and slow rivers provide submerged wood and bottom hollows for shelter. During reproduction, males guard the eggs until hatching. A stationary fish may therefore be resting in cover or attending a nest, depending on context.[1]

A COMMON MIX-UP

Does one bird-catching population define all wels catfish?

No. Such feeding was documented in a particular introduced setting. The species has a broad diet with local variation.[1]

TRY A LITTLE REASONING

Why record location alongside a surprising food observation?

Reveal the explanation

Local prey opportunities can explain a behaviour that is not representative of every population.[1]

Sources & editorial notes

Adapted and translated from the cited Wikipedia revisions, with source-linked reasoning. Image credit and licence are listed separately above.

Adapted and translated from Wikipedia contributors; exact revisions are linked below. CC BY-SA 4.0

  1. Wikipedia contributors — Wels catfish (fixed revision; adapted and translated)
  2. NCBI Taxonomy — Silurus glanis (identity and classification)

Last fact check:

One discovery leads to another

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