Giant catfish

Not to be confused with Giant sea catfish.

The giant catfish (Netuma thalassina), also known as the giant sea catfish, giant salmon catfish, giant marine-catfish, or the khagga,^[3] is a species of catfish in the family Ariidae.^[4] It was described by Eduard Rüppell in 1837, originally under the genus Bagrus.^[2] It inhabits estuaries and occasionally freshwater bodies, in Japan, Australia, Polynesia, southern Vietnam in the Mekong Delta, the Red Sea and the northwestern Indian Ocean. It dwells at a depth range of 10 to 195 m (30 to 640 ft).^[4] It reaches a maximum total length of 185 cm (73 in), but usually reaches a TL of 70 cm (28 in).

Giant catfish
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Siluriformes
Family:	Ariidae
Genus:	Netuma
Species:	N. thalassina
Binomial name
Netuma thalassina (Rüppell, 1837)
Synonyms[2]
Arius thalassinus (Rüppell, 1837) Arius nasutus Valenciennes, 1840 Arius andamanensis Day, 1871 Arius serratus Day, 1877 Ariodes aeneus Sauvage, 1883 Bagrus thalassinus Rüppell, 1837 Bagrus carchariorhynchos Bleeker, 1846 Bagrus carchariorhijnchos Bleeker, 1846 Bagrus netuma Valenciennes, 1840 Bagrus laevigatus Valenciennes, 1840 Netuma thalassinus (Rüppell, 1837) Netuna thalassina (Rüppell, 1837) Netuma thalassina jacksonensis Whitley, 1941 Tachysurus thalassinus (Rüppell, 1837) Tachysurus serratus (Day, 1877)

The diet of the giant catfish includes crustaceans such as crabs, shrimp, prawns and stomatopods; worms, finfish, cephalopods, sea cucumbers, and mollusks.^[5][6][7] It spawns between April and August.^[8]

The giant catfish is harvested commercially and recreationally.^[4]