Catfish Identification Guide

Key identification features

• Prominent barbels ("whiskers") around the mouth, usually in up to four pairs, used to feel for food
• Smooth, scaleless skin that may be slimy or, in some families, covered by bony plates
• Sharp, often locking spines at the leading edge of the dorsal and pectoral fins
• A small fleshy adipose fin between the dorsal fin and tail
• Broad, flattened head and wide mouth suited for bottom feeding

Common look-alikes

• Bullhead catfish: closely related, but has a rounded rather than forked tail fin
• Eel: lacks barbels and paired fins entirely, with a continuous fin fringing the body
• Loach: much smaller, with fewer barbels and no adipose fin

Where you'll see one

Catfish are an enormously diverse group found in freshwater rivers, lakes, and slow backwaters on every continent except Antarctica, usually near the bottom where they forage in low light or murky water. A smaller number of species, such as sea catfish, live in coastal marine and estuarine waters.