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.