Catfish are a type of bony fish that can be found in one form or another on every continent on earth except Antarctica. The catfish family is extremely large and the physical size of the any given catfish can range anywhere from an inch long or up to 3 meters long, known as the Mekong giant catfish. The MeKong Catfish found in Southeast Asia is the largest freshwater fish known to man. Another interesting fact about the fish is that they can also have either armor plating or naked, but no catfish have scales like most traditional fish.
It is fairly well known that catfish are named for their barbels, commonly called “whiskers,” which give them a cat-like appearance. The barbels are the place where the catfish’s whiskers are housed and are used to hunt for food in dark, murky water. Even though the species is named after its barbels not all species of catfish have them. The characteristics that define the catfish or Siluriformes, as the order is called, are distinguishable features of the swimbladder and the skull.
Catfish differ from other types of fish in other ways as well. They are negatively buoyant, which means that they will sink due to their small gas bladder and bony, heavy head. Catfish typically have a long, cylindrical body and a relatively flat belly, or ventrum. This allows the catfish to engage in benthic feeding, meaning that they eat primarily from the river, stream, and lake bottoms. Catfish also have flattened head which allow them to dig through sediment for food and serves to let them move more easily through the water. Catfish can expand their mouths to large sizes to accommodate their habit of feeding by suction or simply gulping their food. They also have no discernable incisor teeth.
Most catfish are equipped with a hollow, long, bony ray on their pectoral and dorsal fins that is used as a defense mechanism. The catfish stick these spines outwards, locked into place so that they can severely wound predators and even humans. Some catfish, if irritated, can even sting using a protein that can would a person so badly that they need hospitalization.
Catfish are a widely sought-after delicacy in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Many people that do not care for fish due to the distinct “fishy” flavor take to catfish because it lacks that essence. Catfish is a particularly popular dish in the American South, particularly in states such as Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Many of these states and others raise catfish commercially on catfish “farms” to sell to large food corporations, with Mississippi currently being the largest producer.