Ictalurus punctatus  (Rafinesque, 1818)
Image contributors to this species:
Kev Langton (1) Paul A.Scharf (1) Andy Smith (1) Michael Diangelo (1) Allan James (1) Amanda MacGregor (1 Drawing)  Jane Bedford (2) Karl-Heinz Dau (1 Stamp) Reinhold Wawrzynski (2)
ScotCat Sources:
Other Sources:
Relevant Information:	They have been introduced to a few countries throughout Europe but are native to North America and Mexico and are mainy used as a sport fish in the U.S. where it is one of the species used in the  "pay as you fish" ponds. To tell the difference between the "Catfishes" and the "Bullheads" in the family Ictularidae is quite simple, the Catfishes have a forked tail, as in the Channel Catfish, and the Bullhead catfish have a truncate (straightish) caudal fin.
Common Name:	Channel catfish
Synonyms:	Silurus punctatus
Family:	Ictaluridaelycipitidae
Distribution:	North America: Central drainages of the United States to southern Canada and northern Mexico
Size:	70cm. (27ins)
Temp:	10 -32°C (47-91°F)
p.H.	6.5 -7.2.
Reference:	ScotCat Factsheet no. 62 : August 2001.