📸 PhotoPhoto: Dieter Florian (To contact the author, ask the uploader or take a look at tauchshop-florian.de .) · CC BY-SA 3.0 de · Wikimedia Commons Source
Wels catfish
Silurus glanis (Wels catfish · ヨーロッパオオナマズ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its maximum total length of 2.73 m is nearly two-thirds the length of a passenger car (about 4.5 m) (Comparison).
- 💡 Its maximum weight of 130 kg is the weight of 6 and a half 20 kg bags of rice (Comparison).
- 💡 With boneless, low-fat white flesh, it is a palatable food fish (ADW).
- 💡 In Europe, it is a popular game fish (ADW).
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 wels catfish is a giant freshwater catfish living in large rivers and lakes of Europe and western Asia and is considered one of the largest freshwater fish in Europe.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its body is elongated and scaleless with a muscular upper body and a laterally flattened tail. Both the upper and lower jaws bear hundreds of soft, inward-sloping teeth, and there are two crushing plates in front of the throat.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It is solitary and active at night, catching prey with the powerful suction created by suddenly opening its large mouth. Adults are said to eat not only fish but also ducks, voles, and snakes. The female lays eggs in a nest made by the male, which the male then guards.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2024) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/40713/58305522
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — 6YPTG
- • iucnredlist.org — 58305522
- • wikidata.org — Q159323
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Silurus glanis 02.jpg
- • fishbase.se — Silurus-glanis.html
- • animaldiversity.org — Silurus glanis
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Carlos Cano-Barbacil · CC0 1.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.