Catfish (scientific name: Catfish) is a kind of fish in the genus Catfish. The front of the body is thick and round, the tail is flat and the head is wide and flat. This kiss is short, wide and round. Two pairs of nostrils, the front nostril has a short tube near the snout. The mouth fissure is large, and the upper and lower jaws are slightly prominent. There are a row of furry teeth on both jaws. Young fish have three pairs of whiskers, and adult fish only have 1 pair of mandibular whiskers degenerated. The maxillary beard is slightly longer than the head, and the mandibular beard is 1/3 ~ 1/5 of the maxillary beard.

There are scales on the body surface and smooth skin. The lateral line is straight and extends along the middle of the body to the caudal base. Mucous pores are developed and arranged in rows above the lateral line. The dorsal fin is short, with only 5 soft bands; The anal fin is long and connected with the caudal fin at the back; The pectoral fin has 1 serrated spines. The body is dark gray or grayish yellow, the back is grayish black, the abdomen is white, and there are irregular white spots or inconspicuous markings on the side.

Catfish is a warm-water fish, mainly inhabiting the middle and lower reaches of rivers, reservoirs, lakes and swamps. Living in still water or slow water with aquatic plants. Catfish is a fierce carnivorous fish with sharp jaws and short stomach. Under natural conditions, rotifers, Daphnia, earthworms and other fry can be eaten at the fry stage.

During fingerling and adult stages, they feed on bottom miscellaneous fish, shrimp and aquatic insects, and prey on some small fish, such as tiger fish, crucian carp, yellow catfish, wheat ear fish, loach and silver carp. And shrimp and aquatic insects. Distributed in Japan (Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku), China, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, Vietnam and Russia.

In China, it is distributed in Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Shandong and Zhejiang, almost all over the country.