---
title: "What the sources say about the Channel Catfish | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "35 claims from the Channel Catfish profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/channel-catfish/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Channel Catfish (*Ictalurus punctatus*)

> 35 claims from the Channel Catfish profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Channel Catfish](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/channel-catfish/)

## Ictalurus punctatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T202680A18236665.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2013-1.rlts.t202680a18236665.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: stats.conservationStatus; assessed 2012 (FishBase gives 20 February 2012)) |

## Channel Catfish. Florida Museum of Natural History, Discover Fishes.

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/ictalurus-punctatus/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| taste buds all over its body to find food in murky water | specialized taste buds all over their bodies, to help them find food in low visibility water (note: tagline, part 2) |
| Rivers, reservoirs, streams, backwaters, swamps and oxbow lakes | inhabit rivers, reservoirs, streams, backwaters, swamps, and oxbow lakes (note: stats.habitat) |
| Small fish, crayfish, mollusks and insect larvae, plus a little aquatic vegetation | Adults feed on small fish, aquatic invertebrates, including crayfish, mollusks, insect larvae, and occasional aquatic vegetation. (note: stats.diet) |
| it has eight, with four on the chin, two on the snout and one at each corner of the mouth | Four whiskers are on the chin, two on the snout, and one on both corners of the mouth. |
| Eight sensory barbels: a set of four under the chin, a pair on the snout and one at each corner of the mouth. | They have eight sensory barbels, or (note: faq 1; the quote is cut at the curly quote mark) |
| The taste buds help it find food in water where it can barely see | specialized taste buds all over their bodies, to help them find food in low visibility water |
| adults usually forage on the bottom, finding meals by touch and smell | Adult channel catfish usually feed on the bottom, detecting food by touch and smell. |
| Its eyes are large for a catfish, and it can hunt by sight to a degree. | The eyes of the channel catfish are proportionately larger than those of other species of catfish and are adapted to sight feeding to a degree. |
| An adult channel catfish is usually 15 to 24 inches (0.4 to 0.6 m) long. | Adults are generally found between 15 and 24 inches (0.4-0.6 m) in length |
| Grown fish generally measure 15 to 24 inches (0.4 to 0.6 m). | Adults are generally found between 15 and 24 inches (0.4-0.6 m) in length (note: faq 2) |
| The longest reported reached 52 inches (1.32 m) in total length. | with the maximum reported total length of 52 inches (1.32 m) (note: body) |
| The Florida Museum gives 22 years as the likely maximum age, though it is rare to find one older than 15. | The maximum age is believed to be 22 years, however it is rare to find individuals over 15 years of age. (note: FishBase says 24 (max reported age); the two disagree, so only the Florida Museum figure is given; sources disagree (Smithsonian NZP ~15, FishBase 24 max reported, ADW 2004 wild 14 average), so the figure is attributed to the Florida Museum alone) |
| Probably no more than 22 years, says the Florida Museum, and few are found past 15. | The maximum age is believed to be 22 years, however it is rare to find individuals over 15 years of age. (note: faq 4; sources disagree (Smithsonian NZP ~15, FishBase 24 max reported, ADW 2004 wild 14 average), so the figure is attributed to the Florida Museum alone) |
| It prefers warm water averaging 70°F (21.1°C) and turns up in rivers, reservoirs, swamps and even the upper parts of estuaries, in brackish water as salty as 19 to 21 parts per thousand. | Channel catfish prefer warm water averaging 70°F (21.1°C) and inhabit rivers, reservoirs, streams, backwaters, swamps, and oxbow lakes. The catfish can even be found in the upper sections of estuaries having salinity as high as 19.0 to 21.0 ppt (note: 'slightly salty' reads the 19-21 ppt figure; salinity is stated, wording is mine) |
| It spawns between May and July, when the water warms to about 75°F (23.9°C). | Spawning occurs from May to July when the water temperature reaches about 75°F (23.9°C). |
| To clean the nest site before spawning, the male fans it with his fins and body. | Prior to spawning, the male cleans the nest site by vigorously fanning with his fins and body. |
| Depending on her size, a female may lay anywhere from 2,000 to 70,000 eggs in a year. | Females may lay from 2,000 to 70,000 eggs per year depending upon size. |
| Once the eggs are out, the male guards the nest and keeps the females away, because they will eat their own eggs. | After the female has released the eggs, the males take control of the nest and do not permit the females to visit the eggs, as they will eat their own eggs. |
| From sundown to about midnight is its active feeding time, in water anywhere from 50 to 94°F (10 to 34.4°C). | They actively feed from sundown until about midnight when the water temperatures are between 50° and 94°F (10° and 34.4°C). (note: faq 3) |
| In winter it seldom eats. | In the winter they rarely feed. (note: faq 3) |
| The longest the Florida Museum reports reached 52 inches (1.32 m). | with the maximum reported total length of 52 inches (1.32 m) (note: faq 2) |

## Channel catfish. Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/channel-catfish

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| An average mature fish weighs two to four pounds (0.9 to 1.8 kg) | Average mature channel catfishes weigh between two to four pounds (note: kg conversion, see next claim) |
| The world record weight, for a fish caught in South Carolina in 1964, is 58 pounds (26.3 kg). | The world record weight for a channel catfish was a 58-pound (26.3 kilograms) fish caught in South Carolina in 1964. (note: a catch record (NZP: world record weight for a fish caught in 1964), not a biological maximum) |

## Channel Catfish. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Freshwater Fish of America.

https://www.fws.gov/fisheries/freshwater-fish-of-america/channel_catfish.html

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A catfish called a swimming tongue, with taste buds all over its body to find food in murky water. | The channel catfish has been called a swimming tongue. (note: tagline, part 1) |
| Taste buds spread over its whole body, most of them around its gills and whiskers | They have taste buds spread over their entire body with most around their gills and whiskers. (note: stats.superpower) |
| Some people call the channel catfish a swimming tongue | The channel catfish has been called a swimming tongue. |
| Its taste buds cover its whole body, and most of them are around the gills and whiskers. | They have taste buds spread over their entire body with most around their gills and whiskers. |

## Ictalurus punctatus (catfish). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Ictalurus_punctatus/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A channel catfish makes sound by moving the spine of its pectoral fin in the pectoral girdle. | The pectoral spine moves in the pectoral girdle to create sound. |
| A structure called the Weberian apparatus links its swimbladder to its ear, amplifying vibrations that come from the bladder. | With the help of the Weberian apparatus, which connects the swimbladder to the ear, they are able to amplify vibrations coming from the swimbladder. |
| (0.9 to 1.8 kg) | 0.9-1.8 kg (note: average mass in kg) |

## Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque, 1818). USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database.

https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=2341

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Its native range covers the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence, the Red River part of the Hudson Bay drainage, and the Missouri and Mississippi basins, reaching from southern Quebec to southern Manitoba and Montana, and south to the Gulf. | St. Lawrence-Great Lakes, Hudson Bay (Red River drainage), and Missouri-Mississippi River basins from southern Quebec to southern Manitoba and Montana south to the Gulf |
| People have also stocked it for sport fishing and food | Intentionally stocked for sport fishing and food. |
| in the Colorado River the earliest releases date to 1892-1893 or 1906 | The first introductions in the Colorado River took place in 1892-1893 or in 1906 |

## Ictalurus punctatus, Channel catfish. FishBase.

https://www.fishbase.de/summary/Ictalurus-punctatus.html

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The menu is mainly small fish, crayfish, clams and snails, plus aquatic insects. | Food consists primarily of small fish, crustaceans (e.g. crayfish), clams and snails; also on aquatic insects and small mammals |