catfish

cat·fish

C0161800 (kăt′fĭsh′)n. pl. catfish or cat·fish·es Any of numerous scaleless, chiefly freshwater fishes of the order Siluriformes, characteristically having whiskerlike barbels extending from the upper jaw. Also called regionally mud cat.

catfish

(ˈkætˌfɪʃ) n, pl -fish or -fishes1. (Animals) any of numerous mainly freshwater teleost fishes having whisker-like barbels around the mouth, esp the silurids of Europe and Asia and the horned pouts of North America2. (Animals) another name for wolffish

cat•fish

(ˈkætˌfɪʃ)

n. pl. (esp. collectively) -fish, (esp. for kinds or species) -fish•es. any of numerous scaleless fishes of the order Siluriformes, with barbels around the mouth resembling cat's whiskers. [1605–15]

cat·fish

(kăt′fĭsh′) Any of numerous scaleless, usually freshwater fish having whisker-like feelers on the upper jaw.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	catfish - flesh of scaleless food fish of the southern United States; often farmedmudcatfreshwater fish - flesh of fish from fresh water used as food
	2.	catfish - large ferocious northern deep-sea food fishes with strong teeth and no pelvic finswolf fish, wolffishblennioid, blennioid fish - elongated mostly scaleless marine fishes with large pectoral fins and reduced pelvic finsAnarhichas, genus Anarhichas - type genus of the Anarhichadidae
	3.	catfish - any of numerous mostly freshwater bottom-living fishes of Eurasia and North America with barbels like whiskers around the mouthsiluriform fishmalacopterygian, soft-finned fish - any fish of the superorder Malacopterygiiorder Siluriformes, Siluriformes - an order of fish belonging to the superorder Malacopterygii including catfishessilurid, silurid fish - Old World freshwater catfishes having naked skin and a long anal fin more or less merged with the eellike caudal finbullhead catfish, bullhead - any of several common freshwater catfishes of the United Stateschannel cat, channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus - freshwater food fish common throughout central United Statesflathead catfish, goujon, Pylodictus olivaris, shovelnose catfish, spoonbill catfish, mudcat - large catfish of central United States having a flattened head and projecting jawarmored catfish - South American catfish having the body covered with bony platessea catfish - any of numerous marine fishes most of which are mouthbreeders; not used for food

Translations

鲇鱼

cat

(kӕt) noun1. a small, four-legged, fur-covered animal often kept as a pet. a Siamese cat.猫2. a large wild animal of the same family (eg tiger, lion etc). the big cats.猫科ˈcatty adjective spiteful, malicious. She's catty even about her best friend; catty remarks.恶毒的ˈcatcall noun a shrill whistle showing disagreement or disapproval. the catcalls of the audience.不满的嘘声ˈcatfish noun any of a family of scaleless fish with long feelers round the mouth. 鲇鱼ˈcatgut noun a kind of cord made from the intestines of sheep etc, used for violin strings etc. （羊）肠线 ˌcat's-ˈeye noun a small, thick piece of glass fixed in the surface of a road to reflect light and guide drivers at night. 道路反光路灯ˈcatsuit noun a woman's close-fitting one-piece trouser suit. （女式）紧身套服 ˈcattail noun a tall plant that grows in wet places, with flowers shaped like a cat's tail. 香蒲let the cat out of the bag to let a secret become known unintentionally. 泄露秘密

catfish

catfish,

common name applied to members of the fish families constituting the order Siluriformes, found in fresh and coastal waters. Catfish are named for the barbels ("whiskers") around their mouths and have scaleless skins, fleshy, rayless posterior fins, and sharp defensive spines in the shoulder and dorsal fins. They are able to use the swim bladderswim bladder,
large, thin-walled sac in some fishes that may function in several ways, e.g., as a buoyant float, a sound producer and receptor, and a respiratory organ. The swim bladder, or air bladder, is located in the dorsal portion of the body cavity and is filled with gases.
..... Click the link for more information. to produce sounds, and have a complex set of bones forming a sensitive hearing apparatus. Some species, such as the stone and tadpole catfishes and the madtom, can inflict stings by means of poison glands in the pectoral spines. Catfish are usually dull-colored, though the madtoms of E North American streams are brightly patterned. Members of most madtom species are no more than 5 in. (12.7 cm) long; some are less than 2 in. (5 cm) long. Danube catfish called wels, or sheatfish, reach a length of 13 ft (4 m) and a weight of 400 lb (180 kg), and the Mekong giant catfish can reach 10 ft (3 m) and 550 lb (250 kg). Catfish are omnivorous feeders and are valuable scavengers.

Types of Catfish

The South American catfishes show great diversity: There are small, delicate species armored with bony plates; parasitic types that live in the gills of other fish; and one catfish of the E Andes in which the pelvic fins are modified into suckers that enable it to cling to rocks. African species include the electric fishelectric fish,
name for various fish that produce electricity by means of organs usually developed from modified muscle tissue. The electric eel (Electrophorus electricus
..... Click the link for more information. and the Nile catfish, which swims upside down to feed at the water's surface and has a white back and a dark belly, the reverse of the normal coloration.

Of the 30 American species the largest and most important is the blue, or Mississippi, catfish, an excellent food fish weighing up to 150 lb (70 kg). Best known is the smaller channel catfish, which reaches 20 lb (9 kg) and has a deeply forked tail and slender body. The stonecat, 10 in. (25.4 cm) long, is found in clear water under logs and stones. The bullheads, or horned pouts, are catfish of muddy ponds and streams, feeding on bottom plants and animals. Bullheads have square or slightly rounded tails and may reach 1 ft (30 cm) in length and 2 lb (0.9 kg) in weight. The black, yellow, and brown bullhead species are common in the waters of the central and eastern states.

There are no catfish in the Pacific except the introduced white catfish. Marine catfish found during the summer in bays and harbors of the Atlantic and Gulf states include the 2-ft (61-cm) gaff-topsail catfish, named for its long, ribbonlike pectoral and dorsal fins, and the smaller sea catfish, a very common trash fish. The males of both these species carry the fertilized eggs in their mouths (and therefore do not eat) until well after the young hatch, a period of two months. In certain other species the eggs are embedded in the underside of the female. Some tropical catfish survive dry seasons by burrowing into the mud or by crawling overland in search of water.

Classification

Catfishes are classified in the phylum ChordataChordata
, phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate animals.
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Actinopterygii, order Siluriformes.

catfish

[′kat‚fish] (vertebrate zoology) The common name for a number of fishes which constitute the suborder Siluroidei in the order Cypriniformes, all of which have barbels around the mouth.

catfish

1. any of numerous mainly freshwater teleost fishes having whisker-like barbels around the mouth, esp the silurids of Europe and Asia and the horned pouts of North America 2. another name for wolffish

catfish

cat·fish

catfish

cat•fish

cat·fish

cat

catfish

catfish

catfish

catfish,

Types of Catfish

Classification

catfish

catfish

catfish

Synonyms for catfish

noun flesh of scaleless food fish of the southern United States

Synonyms

Related Words

noun large ferocious northern deep-sea food fishes with strong teeth and no pelvic fins

Synonyms

Related Words

noun any of numerous mostly freshwater bottom-living fishes of Eurasia and North America with barbels like whiskers around the mouth

Synonyms

Related Words