Species: Notarius rugispinis, Softhead Sea Catfish

Notarius rugispinis (Valenciennes in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1840)
Softhead Sea Catfish
Head narrow, flattened; snout long, overhanging mouth, blunt when viewed from above; shield on top of head very rough, small, not reaching to level of eyes; no groove on center top of head; bony process behind head shield long, tapering, with a broad base; bony plate before base of dorsal fin spine a narrow crescent; 2 pairs of close-set nostrils; no fleshy furrow extends across snout and connects rear nostrils; three pairs of barbels (on chin and both jaws), top pair reaching to pectoral fin; teeth on roof of mouth pointed to granular, one pair of small, elliptical to rounded, widely separated plates; gill opening wide, membranes not adhering to breast; no rakers on rear surfaces of first two gill arches; gill rakers on front of 1st arch 15-17 (14-17), on 2nd arch 18 (16-20); bony plate above base of pectoral fin triangular, pointed; tail fin deeply forked; a complete lateral line, with branches to top and bottom base of tail fin, no scales.
Grey to red-brown above, lighter below.
Reaches 45 cm.
Turbid estuarine and adjacent coastal waters.
Depth range: 0-20 m?
The Gulf of Paria, Venezuela, to the Amazon.

High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Brackish
- Marine
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Soft bottom only
- Estuary
- Mud
- FishBase Habitat
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- Demersal
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Data
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Mobile benthic worms
- Egg Type
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- Brooded
- Data
- No pelagic larva
- No pelagic phase
- Global Endemism
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- All species
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- West Atlantic Endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Also in Brazil
- Continent
- Continent only
- Extends South of GC
- GC non-endemic
- All species
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 45
- Depth Range Min
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- 0
- Depth Range Max
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- 20