Redtail catfish
Amazing fact
Redtail catfish can find food even in murky water using their sensitive whiskers.
神戸須磨シーワールド
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Redtail catfish can find food even in murky water using their sensitive whiskers.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Redtail catfish
- Scientific name
- Phractocephalus hemioliopterus
- Japanese name
- レッドテールキャットフィッシュ
- Group
- Freshwater animals
- Order
- Siluriformes
- Family
- Pimelodidae
- Genus
- Phractocephalus
Where the name “Redtail catfish” comes from
The English name “catfish” comes from the whiskers around the mouth, which bring cats to mind.
神戸須磨シーワールドIt has a red tail fin and a body colored in separate black and white areas.
How the Redtail catfish lives
It also lives in the Orinoco River. It eats by drawing prey into its large mouth as if sucking it in.
栃木県なかがわ水遊園Basic data
- Size
- Body length: 100 cm or more
- Range
- Amazon River
Where the Redtail catfish has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 简体中文
- 红尾护头鲿
- 繁體中文
- 紅尾鴨嘴
- 한국어
- 붉은꼬리메기
- Español
- Cajaro
- Français
- Poisson-chat à queue rouge
- Deutsch
- Rotflossen-Antennenwels
- Português (Brasil)
- Pirarara
- Italiano
- Cajaro
- Tiếng Việt
- Cá hồng vĩ mỏ vịt
- Русский
- Сом-плоскоголовик
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 鳥羽水族館 — レッドテールキャットフィッシュChecked: 2026-11-04
- 神戸須磨シーワールド — レッドテールキャットフィッシュChecked: 2026-11-07
- 栃木県なかがわ水遊園 — レッドテール･キャットフィッシュChecked: 2026-11-07
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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