Ictalurus

Ictalurus is a genus of North American freshwater catfishes. It includes the well-known channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) and blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus).

Ictalurus Temporal range: Late Eocene to present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Siluriformes
Family:	Ictaluridae
Genus:	Ictalurus Rafinesque, 1820
Type species
Silurus cerulescens Rafinesque, 1820
Synonyms
Elliops Rafinesque, 1820 Synechoglanis Gill, 1859 Ichthaelurus Cope, 1868 Villarius Rutter, 1896 Haustor Jordan & Evermann, 1896 Istlarius Jordan & Snyder, 1899 Ichthyaelurus Meek, 1904

The catfish genome database (cBARBEL) is a database for the genetics of Ictalurus species.^[1]

Distribution

Members of this genus are primarily found in the Mississippi River basin & peninsular Florida, and range south to southern Mexico, where several range-restricted species are known. Some species, such as the channel and blue catfish, have been introduced to parts of North America west of the Rocky Mountains and east of the Appalachian Mountains, where they are otherwise not native. However, the fossil species Ictalurus countermani, known from the Miocene of Maryland, suggests that this genus did naturally inhabit the Atlantic-draining rivers east of the Appalachians during the Neogene.^[2]

Species

Currently, 10 species in this genus are recognized:^[3]

• Ictalurus australis (Meek, 1904) (Panuco catfish)
• Ictalurus balsanus (D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1899) (Balsas catfish)
• Ictalurus dugesii (T. H. Bean, 1880) (Lerma catfish)
• Ictalurus furcatus (Valenciennes, 1840) (blue catfish)
• Ictalurus lupus (Girard, 1858) (headwater catfish)
• Ictalurus meridionalis (Günther, 1864)
• Ictalurus mexicanus (Meek, 1904) (Rio Verde catfish)
• Ictalurus ochoterenai (F. de Buen, 1946) (Chapala catfish)
• Ictalurus pricei (Rutter, 1896) (Yaqui catfish)
• Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque, 1818) (channel catfish)

Five fossil species also are assigned to this genus:^[4][5]

• †Ictalurus countermani Lundberg & Luckenbill, 2012 (Late Miocene St. Mary's Formation of Maryland, US)^[2]
• †Ictalurus echinatus Lundberg, 1975 (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene Valentine Formation of Nebraska, US)
• †Ictalurus lambda Hubbs & Hibbard, 1951 - (Pliocene of Nebraska, Kansas, Texas and Florida, US)
• †Ictalurus rhaeas (Cope, 1891) (Late Eocene Cypress Hills Formation of Saskatchewan, Canada)^[6]
• †Ictalurus spodius Smith, 1987 (Pleistocene of Jalisco, Mexico)^[7]