Teleostei (teleosts) >
Siluriformes (Catfishes) >
Ariidae (Sea catfishes) > Galeichthyinae
Etymology: Galeichthys: Greek, galeos = a shark + Greek, ichthys = fish (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Castelnau.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated. Subtropical; 34°S - 35°S
Southeast Atlantic: South Africa and Namibia.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 24.5 range ? - ? cm
Max length : 45.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3976)
Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 19 - 22. This species is distinguished with the following characters: short head, nearly as broad as long; blunt snout, well-rounded in lateral profile and dorsally; palatal tooth patches posterior to premaxillary tooth band meet at midline; rounded caudal-fin lobes, of near equal length, fin not deeply forked; short and thick caudal peduncle; underside of body (both head and belly) covered with fine brown specks; anterior gill-rakers on first arch 10-13 (5 + 5); pectoral fin rays 9-12; fatty growth along pectoral fin spines of breeding females not present outside spawning season. Dimorphism present with posterior (humeral) process of cleithrum obvious externally, fan-shaped in females, triangular in males; smooth and shallow dorsomedian cranial depression on exposed skull not reaching supraoccipital process (Ref. 85159).
Carnivorous on benthic invertebrates, primarily annelids (Ref. 4332).
A paternal mouth brooder.
Kulongowski, C., 2010. Revision of the ariid catfish genus Galeichthys Valenciennes (subfamily Galeichthyinae), with description of a new species from South Africa and designation of a neotype for G. ater Castelnau. Smithiania Bull. (12):9-23. (Ref. 85159)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Traumatogenic (Ref. 58010)
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5625 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00427 (0.00166 - 0.01096), b=3.08 (2.85 - 3.31), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.6 ±0.48 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (35 of 100).
