Channel catfish

The channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus),meaning “fish cat with spots”. known informally as the "channel cat", is a species of catfish native to North America. They are North America's most abundant catfish species, and the official state fish of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Tennessee. The channel catfish is the most fished species of catfish in the United States, with around 8 million anglers angling them per year. The popularity of channel catfish for food has contributed to the rapid expansion of this species' aquaculture in the United States. It has also been widely introduced to Europe, Asia and South America, and many countries consider it an invasive species.

Distribution

Channel catfish are native to the Nearctic realm and are widely distributed in southern Canada, the eastern and northern United States, and parts of northern Mexico.

They have an extensive native range consisting of almost all of the United States west of the Appalachian Mountains and east of the Rocky Mountains, roughly following the Mississippi River Basin. They are also native to peninsular Florida. They have also been widely introduced to Atlantic-draining rivers east of the Appalachians and Pacific-draining rivers west of the Rockies, giving them a continent-spanning range. Although they are officially considered introduced to this region, it has been suggested that they may also be native to the Atlantic-draining rivers from the Susquehanna south to the Neuse. Its range in southern Canada includes the Great Lakes (excluding Lake Superior) and parts of the Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba provinces.

They have also been introduced into some waters of the Czech Republic and Romania, as well as parts of Malaysia and Indonesia.

This species thrives in rivers, reservoirs, lakes, and ponds. Channel catfish are cavity nesters, which means that they lay their eggs in crevices, hollows, or debris to protect them from swift currents.

Behaviour

Adult channel catfish, over 45 centimetres (18 in), prey on fishes such as yellow perch and sunfish. The diet of adults consists of snails, clams, crustaceans (such as crayfish), snakes, frogs, small fish, insects, aquatic plants, algae, seeds, grains, nuts, and occasionally even small birds and small mammals. Younger channel catfish are more consistently omnivorous, eating a large variety of plants and animals.