Plotosus lineatus
Striped eel catfish
Plotosus lineatus (Thunberg, 1787)
Family: Plotosidae (Eeltail catfishes)
Order: Siluriformes
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Max. size: 32.0 cm TL (male/unsexed; Ref. 9710); max. reported age: 7 years
Environment: reef-associated; brackish; marine ; depth range 1 - 60 m
Climate: tropical
Importance: fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial
Resilience: Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.44-0.45; tm=1-3; tmax=7)
Distribution:
Gazetteer Indo-Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to Samoa, north to southernJapan, southern Korea, and the Ogasawara Islands, south to Australia and Lord Howe Island. Palau and Yap in Micronesia (Ref. 1602). Sometimes enters freshwaters of East Africa (Lake Malawi) and Madagascar (Ref. 3879).
Diagnosis: Dorsal spines (total): 1-1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 85-105; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 70-81. Dorsal and anal fins continuous with caudal fin. Four pairs of mouth barbels. A single highly venomous serrate spine at the beginning of the first dorsal and each of the pectoral fins (Ref. 1602).
Biology: The only catfish found in coral reefs. Also found in estuaries, tidepools and open coasts. Juveniles form dense ball-shaped schools of about 100 fish; adults are solitary or occur in smaller groups of around 20 and are known to hide under ledges during the day (Ref. 1602, 5503, 12693, 37816). Adults search and stir the sand incessantly for crustaceans, mollusks, worms, and sometimes fish (Ref. 5213). Oviparous, with demersal eggs and planktonic larvae (Ref. 205). The highly venomous serrate spine of the first dorsal and each of the pectoral fins are dangerous, and even fatal in rare cases (Ref. 1602).
Dangerous: venomous
