第 1229 號，共 1 402 號

Channel catfish

Ictalurus punctatus

只是會痛不要碰會痛，但不會對你造成嚴重傷害。

有毒液的棘刺吃：每樣都來一點

The channel catfish is a freshwater fish native to North America, and it is the continent's most common catfish. It lives in rivers, lakes, ponds and reservoirs, and it is a popular fish for anglers to catch and eat. It has spines on some of its fins that can cause a small injury if it is handled badly.1

分布在

Native to southern Canada, the eastern and northern United States and northern Mexico; widely introduced elsewhere1

北美洲

首頁

It thrives in rivers, reservoirs, lakes and ponds, and it lives in murky water. Adults are often caught by anglers, and the species is also farmed (aquaculture) in the United States. Females lay eggs in crevices, hollows or debris to shelter them from fast currents.1

長度

30 cm (1 ft)1

體重

910 g 到 26 kg (2 lb 到 57 lb)1

最高速度

大約 8,5 km/h（5,3 mph）

游泳, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

Adults over 45 cm mainly prey on fish such as yellow perch and sunfish, and also eat snails, clams, crayfish, frogs, insects and plants. Young channel catfish eat a wide mix of plants and animals. They feed by opening the mouth quickly to pull in water and prey, then swallow prey whole.1

Channel catfish 的照片 — Channel catfish。照片：Ryan Somma。 CC BY-SA 4.0, iNaturalist.

怎麼認出牠

Four pairs of barbels (whisker-like feelers) surround the mouth.1
Sharp spines sit on the pectoral (side) fins and the dorsal (back) fin.1
The pectoral spine has serrations (small saw-like ridges).1
It lives in muddy or dark water and finds food mainly by smell and taste.1

毒液力量

有毒液的棘刺

尖銳的棘刺帶著毒液。踩到或抓到牠都會很痛。

牠的毒液有什麼作用？

The pectoral spine has poisonous tissues that help deter predators.1

牠對人有多危險？

對人的危險: 疼痛可能會非常痛，但幾乎從來不會很嚴重。

Its fin spines may cause injury if the fish is handled improperly. A prick from a spine is no more dangerous than a mosquito sting.1

牠害怕時會做什麼？

It can lock its pectoral spine as a defence, and the serrated, poison-bearing spine helps to deter predators.1

如果牠的棘刺刺到你

把傷口泡在熱水裡，水溫要在傷者能忍受、又不會燙傷的範圍內（先用你自己的手試水溫），泡 30 到 90 分鐘。要就醫，特別是被石頭魚和魟魚刺傷時。

一定要先打緊急電話（112、000、911）。這是一般急救指引，不是醫療建議。急救基本知識

注意安全

絕對不要碰、抓或捉弄野生動物，就算是很小的動物，就算牠看起來在睡覺或已經死了也一樣。
給牠空間。如果遇到了，保持冷靜，慢慢往後退，讓牠自己離開。
如果被牠的棘刺刺到：保持冷靜，保持不動，打緊急電話（112、000、911）或趕快去醫院。記住牠的樣子，有照片會很有幫助。

牠不是想來抓你。牠用毒液來捕捉食物或保護自己，而且牠更想躲起來。更多安全知識

在世界上的哪裡？

非洲亞洲歐洲北美洲南美洲澳洲與大洋洲

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

牠有多重？

跟 6 隻家貓一樣重

跟 9 塊玩具積木排成一排一樣長可以在 21 秒內游完一座大游泳池（50 公尺）

Channel catfish 跟「你」比起來有多大？

只是在你的瀏覽器裡做算術。什麼都不會儲存，也不會傳送到任何地方。

牠有多快？

奧運游泳選手 大約 8 km/h (5 mph)

Channel catfish 大約 8,5 km/h (5,3 mph)

全速前進的海豚 大約 35 km/h (22 mph)

值得知道

小知識

Taste buds cover the whole body, and they are most dense on the four pairs of barbels around the mouth.1

They can sense certain amino acids in water at about one part per 100 million, which helps them find food in murky water.1

The largest channel catfish on record weighed 26 kg and was caught in South Carolina in 1964.1

Channel catfish are the most fished catfish in the United States, with around 8 million anglers catching them each year.1

Fossils of this species have been found in central North America from the Miocene onwards, and the species has lasted for nearly 20 million years.1

Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Tennessee have made the channel catfish their official state fish.1

破解迷思

迷思： Channel catfish barbels can sting when touched.

真相： The barbels cannot sting. The spines on the pectoral and dorsal fins are the only part that can cause injury.1

給毒液專家

學名: Ictalurus punctatus
類群: 有毒液的魚
家人: Ictaluridae2
排序: Siluriformes
各大洲: 北美洲
寶寶: Channel catfish are cavity nesters that lay their eggs in crevices, hollows or debris, which protects them from swift currents.1
對人的危險: 2 / 5: 疼痛3