An official website of the United States government.
Scientific Name:
Pylodictis olivaris (Rafinesque, 1819) (ITIS)
Common Name:
Flathead catfish, yellow catfish, mud catfish, shovelhead catfish, johnnie cat, goujon, Opelousas catfish, flatbelly catfish, Mississippi catfish
Native To:
Mississippi and Gulf drainages (Fofonoff et al. 2003)
Date of U.S. Introduction:
Stocked to non-native waters beginning in 1950s (Brown et al. 2005)
Means of Introduction:
Intentionally stocked in rivers and holding ponds (Fofonoff et al. 2003)
Impact:
Preys on native species (Fofonoff et al. 2003)
Current U.S. Distribution:
Western U.S.; Atlantic Coast
Distribution / Maps / Survey Status
DOI. USGS. Wetland and Aquatic Research Center.
Provides detailed collection information as well as animated map.
Images
University of Georgia. Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health.
Selected Resources
The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source. Or, to display all related content view all resources for Flathead Catfish.
Partnership
IUCN. Species Survival Commission. Invasive Species Specialist Group.
Federal Government
DOI. Fish and Wildlife Service.
See also: Ecological Risk Screening Summaries for more species summaries
Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. Marine Invasions Research Lab.
DOI. USGS. Wetland and Aquatic Research Center.
Provides distribution maps and collection information (State and County).
State and Local Government
Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. Division of Fish and Wildlife.
Academic
Pennsylvania State University. Pennsylvania Sea Grant.
See also: Aquatic Invasive Species: Resources for additional species information
Professional
Citations
- Brown, J.J., J. Perillo, T.J. Kwak, and R.J. Horwitz. 2005. Implications of Pylodictis olivaris (flathead catfish) introduction into the Delaware and Susquehanna drainages. Northeastern Naturalist 12(4):473-484.
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Pylodictis olivaris. [Accessed Sep 10, 2014].
- Fofonoff, P.W., G.M. Ruiz, B. Steves, A.H. Hines, and J.T. Carlton. 2003. Pylodictis olivaris. In: National Exotic Marine and Estuarine Species Information System: Chesapeake Bay Introduced Species Database. [Accessed Sep 16, 2014].