📸 PhotoPhoto: rhosoi · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Amur catfish
Silurus asotus (Amur catfish · ナマズ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its maximum total length of 1.3 m is about the height of a lower-grade elementary school child (Comparison).
- 💡 Its maximum weight of 30 kg is the weight of one and a half 20 kg bags of rice (Comparison).
- 💡 In Japan, it is commercially farmed and has also been raised in rice paddies (FishBase).
- 💡 It is also regarded as a game fish for anglers (FishBase).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The Amur catfish is a scaleless, mucus-covered freshwater fish living on muddy bottoms of rivers and lakes in Korea, China, Taiwan, and Japan. Its body coloration is characterized by irregular blotches.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its body is long and cylindrical overall, but the head is flattened from top to bottom and the rear body is flattened from side to side. It has 2 pairs of barbels, a small dorsal fin, and an anal fin long enough to reach about half the body length.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It is active at night and preys on invertebrates, fish, and small animals. From May to July, the male wraps his body around the female's belly and squeezes to help her release eggs.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
It is listed on the National List of Species of Korea and inhabits rivers, lakes, and swamps across Korea. The Korean endemic Korean slender catfish is a close relative.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2022) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/166951/159753933
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — 6YQ6N
- • iucnredlist.org — 159753933
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000057687 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000057687
- • wikidata.org — Q481718
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Silurus.jpg
- • fishbase.se — Silurus-asotus.html
- • species.nibr.go.kr — mainHome.do
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Carlos Cano-Barbacil · CC0 1.0 (Congeneric silhouette — Silurus glanis)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.