Peruvian sea catfish

Galeichthys peruvianus is a marine sea catfish of the family Ariidae that lives on the Pacific coast of the Americas, mainly along that of Peru and in central and northern Chile ^[1]. It is benthic and inhabits soft bottoms down to about 30 m depth ^[2]. It reaches a maximum of 35 cm total length ^[3]. It feeds on anchoveta, polychaetes and crustaceans, and spawns in late summer ^[2]. It has been studied in the coastal small-scale fishery of Lambayeque ^[4]. Its global IUCN Red List category is Least Concern ^[3],[5].

The species was described by Lütken in 1874, and Tachisurus peruvianus is listed in WoRMS as an unaccepted synonym ^[6]. The genus Galeichthys Valenciennes, 1840 is the only one in the subfamily Galeichthyinae; it holds 1 Eastern Pacific species and 3 restricted to southern Africa ^[1]. In Peru it is known as bagre con faja, the name used in the IMARPE catalogue ^[2]; in English, besides Peruvian sea catfish, a Chilean study calls it the Sashed Catfish ^[1].

The body is naked, without scales, robust and compressed towards the rear, with a broad head and a large mouth; the maxilla bears a barbel and the chin a pair or more ^[1]. The IMARPE catalogue specifies 2 pairs of barbels on the lower jaw and 1 pair on the upper ^[2]. The back is dark grey and the belly milky white, and on the flanks both colours form stripes, with a conspicuous silver band on each side; the eyes are yellow ^[1].

The dorsal and pectoral fins each carry a strong serrated spine, and an adipose fin sits behind the dorsal; the anal fin has 14 to 16 rays ^[1]. The fins are described as reddish orange in the Chilean specimens ^[1] and dark brown in the Peruvian sheet ^[2]. The first gill arch has 13 to 15 anterior gill rakers ^[3].

Its maximum size is 35 cm total length ^[3]; the IMARPE sheet gives 20 to 35 cm standard length for adults ^[2]. According to a revision of the genus cited by the authors, records from Mexico and Panama may result from confusion with Arius seemanni, which resembles this species in several external features ^[1].

Its range is debated: the IMARPE catalogue places it from Altata (Mexico) to Ilo (Peru) and Chile ^[2], but an author cited in a 2021 study treats it as endemic to South America, from northern Peru to Chile, and attributes the Mexican records to error ^[1]. Those same authors note that records from Ecuador to Mexico, made from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century, still need clarification ^[1].

In Chile there are 5 records: the southernmost, near Cocholgüe (Concepción, 36.5875° S), is probably attributed to the 1982-1983 El Niño event ^[1]. On 20 March 2018, 2 juveniles were caught south of Arica in an artisanal seine for anchovy, 1.2 km offshore at 15 m depth ^[1]. It is a benthic species of soft bottoms, reaching 30 m depth ^[2].

It spawns in late summer, around March, and feeds on anchoveta, polychaetes, crabs, squat lobsters and shrimp ^[2]. At Taltal (Antofagasta, Chile) a female with well-developed eggs was found, and the 2 juveniles from Arica, 11.3 and 9.8 cm total length, convinced the authors that the species breeds in northern Chile ^[1].

In the Lambayeque small-scale fishery, between September 2005 and August 2006, specimens measured 11 to 35 cm total length, and size varied with sex, capture depth, season and fishing gear ^[4]. The IMARPE sheet gives 20 to 35 cm standard length for adults ^[2].

It is a benthic, demersal fish whose diet includes anchoveta, polychaetes, crabs, squat lobsters and shrimp ^[2]. Otoliths from fish of the north coast of Peru recorded the 1997-1998 El Niño event and seasonal temperature variation, from which a 10-year record of sea surface temperature was built ^[7].

It hosts a varied parasite fauna: the IMARPE catalogue lists the copepod Acantholochus galeichthyos, a monogenean of the genus Hamatopeduncularia and, as endoparasites, cestodes, nematodes and the acanthocephalan Corynosoma obtuscens ^[2]. On its gill filaments off Puerto Pizarro (Tumbes), 2 new species of the monogenean Neotetraonchus were described ^[8], and in 2025 Chauhanellus peruvianus was described, the first record of its genus in the south-eastern Pacific ^[9].

Its global IUCN Red List category is Least Concern; FishBase states that the assessment dates from 21 May 2007 ^[3],[5]. The same database assigns it a low to moderate vulnerability to fishing, 29 out of 100 ^[3].

Knowledge of its distribution remains incomplete: the authors of the Arica record acknowledge that its range needs further study and note that breeding populations and potential spawning areas raise the importance of knowing its distribution and including it in the fish fauna of Chile ^[1]. The IMARPE sheet for Peru lists no national threat category ^[2].

Not medical advice. For a sting, a poisoning or an allergy, seek medical care.

The dorsal and pectoral fins carry a strong serrated spine ^[2], and FishBase flags the species as traumatogenic, that is, able to injure whoever handles it ^[3]. The IMARPE catalogue records Anisakis larvae in it, among other internal parasites ^[2].

FishBase lists it among species of commercial fisheries, sold fresh or used for fishmeal ^[3]. Its small-scale fishery on the Lambayeque coast was studied between September 2005 and August 2006, with sizes of 11 to 35 cm ^[4].

At Tumaco (Colombia), nuggets were made from its flesh through a surimi-type fish paste with 5, 10 and 15 % wheat flour; the 10 % formulation gave the best protein contribution and, in general, the nuggets were well accepted ^[10]. In Chile it turns up accidentally in seines aimed at anchovy ^[1].

Peruvian literature places it on coastal soft bottoms down to about 30 m depth ^[2]. It was studied in the Lambayeque small-scale fishery between September 2005 and August 2006 ^[4], and was collected at Puerto Pizarro (Tumbes) ^[8] and, in fish from northern Peruvian waters, in the otoliths that tracked the 1997-1998 El Niño ^[7]. The sources consulted treat it as a fishery and research fish, and none describes dive sightings ^[4],[8].