SCOTCAT.COM

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Pararius proximus (Ogilby, 1898)

Image contributors to this species:

Australian National Fish Collection, CSIRO (1)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

The Arafura catfish, also known as the Arafura sea catfish, is a species of catfish in the family Ariidae. It was described by James Douglas Ogilby in 1898, originally under the genus Arius. Habitat: It inhabits marine, brackish and freshwaters in the western Pacific. Marine; freshwater and brackish. Diet: Worms, finfish, crustaceans such as crabs and amphipods, mollusks, echinoderms, algae and insects. Etymology: The genus name Pararius: Para-, near, presumably referring to resemblance of P. proximus to Arius australis (=Neoarius graeffei). The specific name proximus: near, referring to its “outward resemblance” to Arius australis (=Neoarius graeffei). Remarks: Still found on some online searches as Netuma proxima.

Common Name:

Arafura catfish

Synonyms:

Arius proximus, Arius arafurensis, Netuma proxima

Family:

Ariidae

Distribution:

Western Pacific: Southern New Guinea, northern Australia and Aru Islands; in nearshore coastal waters and estuaries. Type Locality: Port Darwin, Northern Australia.

Size:

46.0cm. (18¼ins)

Temp:

p.H.

Reference:

Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2019. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, ( 12/2019 ).
Netuma proxima in Fishes of Australia, accessed 07 Sep 2020,. Fishes of Australia
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.

Family: Ariidae Back to Ident-A-Cat Click on Thumbnails

Pararius proximus

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