Life habits and morphological characteristics of the plateau catfish (Plateau catfish)

Triplophysa siluroides belongs to the order Cypriniformes, family Triploidae, subfamily Triplophysa, and genus Triplophysa siluroides. Commonly known as: earth catfish, slate head. English name: Catfish-like loach.

Endangerment level: Vulnerable.

The body is stout, the front end is broad and slightly flat, the rear end is nearly rounded, and the tail stalk is thin and rounded. The head is large, flat, and triangular in dorsal view. The mouth is large, inferior, and curved. Lips without papillae, mandible spatulate. There are 3 pairs of barbels, 2 pairs of short muzzle barbels, and 1 pair of long birch barbels. Small eyes. The body has no scales, and the skin on the body surface is dotted with short strips and papillary cortical protrusions. The lateral lines are straight. The dorsal fin is located in the middle of the body, opposite to the pelvic fin; the pectoral fin is flat; the caudal fin is concave, and the upper lobe is slightly longer. The dorsal side of the body is yellowish brown, the abdomen is light yellow, the back and sides of the body have dark brown rings and cloud spots, and each fin has spots.

A kind of fish that lives in plateau rivers at higher altitudes. Estuary areas upstream of affiliated lakes are more numerous. It often likes to lurk in river sections with deep and rapid gravel bottoms such as main streams and large tributaries. It also inhabits alluvial silt, slow currents and still water bodies with many aquatic plants, and maintains a benthic life. It is a carnivorous fish. Adult fish mainly prey on fish, while young fish eat aquatic insect larvae. Eggs are laid in July-August. It is the largest species among the Loach family. Common individuals are about 150-480 mm in length, and the largest individual is 482 mm in length and weighs 1.5 kg. It is distributed in the main branches and tributaries of the upper reaches of the Yellow River and its affiliated lakes from Jingyuan in Gansu Province to Guide in Qinghai Province.

The plateau catfish was once an economic fish in the area. Because plateau fish grow very slowly, and there are very few high-quality fish in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, the plateau catfish is not only large in size, but also has plump muscles and good meat taste. Therefore, it is regarded as an economical food fish and is fished in large quantities. As a result, resources are reduced. There has been a significant decline, and currently only a certain number remains in plateau areas where there are relatively few human eyes.

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