📸 PhotoPhoto: KENPEI · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Lake Biwa catfish
Silurus biwaensis (Lake Biwa catfish · ビワコオオナマズ)
Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its maximum total length of 118 cm is 18 cm longer than a 1 m ruler (Comparison).
- 💡 Its maximum weight of 17.2 kg is slightly lighter than a single 20 kg bag of rice (Comparison).
- 💡 It is an endemic species found only in Lake Biwa, Japan, and is regarded as a game fish (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 Lake Biwa catfish is a catfish endemic to Lake Biwa in Japan and is the largest catfish species in Japan.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
It is the largest species among Japanese catfishes, reaching a maximum total length of 118 cm and a weight of 17.2 kg.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
According to observations, once a female finds a spawning site, a male wraps his tail around her body and squeezes tightly for 20–30 seconds. The female then releases her eggs all at once, and the pair circles together to scatter the eggs widely.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List: not evaluated (NE) — cross-checked with the Wikidata conservation-status entry
- • catalogueoflife.org — 6Z26S
- • wikidata.org — Q2286409
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Silurus biwaensis1.jpg
- • fishbase.se — Silurus-biwaensis.html
- • 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.