Ictaluridae, Gill, 1861

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 597

Family Ictaluridae

North American catfishes

Ictaluridae are endemic to North and Central America, with a southern distribution reaching Guatemala. The family includes approximately 50 species in seven genera, three of which ( Satan , Trogloglanis , Prietella ) are eyeless inhabitants of subterranean waters in Texas and Mexico. Ameiurus was introduced to Germany as early as 1885, and at least four species of Ictaluridae have become established in Europe ( Ameiurus melas , A. nebulosus , Ictalurus furcatus , and I. punctatus ). Ictalurus punctatus has become established in Cyprus. As these species and additional ones are widely available in the aquaculture and aquarium trade, their introduction is expected to occur in other regions of West Asia in the future.

Further reading. Taylor 1969 (systematics); Lundberg 1982, 1992 (phylogeny); Stoeckel & Burr 1999 (reproduction); Hardman & Page 2003 (phylogeny); Nelson et al. 2016 (diversity).