Clarias gariepinus

They are found throughout Africa and the Middle East, and live in freshwater lakes, rivers, and swamps, as well as human-made habitats, such as oxidation ponds or even urban sewage systems.The African sharptooth catfish was introduced all over the world in the early 1980s for aquaculture purposes, so is found in countries far outside its natural habitat, such as Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India.[3] The African sharptooth catfish is a large, eel-like fish, usually of dark gray or black coloration on the back, fading to a white belly.[citation needed] It reaches a maximum length of 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) TL and can weigh up to 60 kg (130 lb).[5] These fish have slender bodies, flat bony heads, notably flatter than in the genus Silurus, and broad, terminal mouths with four pairs of barbels.
Capture (blue) and aquaculture (green) production of North African catfish ( Clarias gariepinus ) in thousand tonnes from 1950 to 2022, as reported by the FAO [ 2 ]
Jumping upstream in a branch of the Sabie River , Kruger N.P.
Specimen from Bogor , Indonesia (possibly cultivated)
Juvenile specimens caught in the sewers of Rishon LeZion , Israel
Conservation statusLeast ConcernIUCN 3.1Scientific classificationEukaryotaAnimaliaChordataActinopterygiiSiluriformesClariidaeClariasBinomial nameBurchellSynonymsLacepèdeValenciennesGüntherVinciguerraPfefferBoulengerNicholsGriscomLönnbergPietschmanncatfishcatfishesAfricaMiddle Eastriversswampsoxidation pondssewage systemsaquaculturecountriesBrazilVietnamIndonesiaSabie RiverKruger N.P.Rishon LeZionZambesianFishBaseSilurusmouthsbarbelsnocturnalinsectsplanktonsnailsshrimpinvertebratesreptilesamphibiansmammalscommon moorhenSpawningwatersfemalessecondsfertilizationCentralWestern AfricaagriculturetilapiaHeterobranchus longifillisC. batrachusdigeneansectoparasitesIUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesWayback MachineFroese, RainerAnimal Diversity WebAfrican InvertebratesWikidataWikispeciesiNaturalistObservation.orgOpen Tree of Life