WoRMS taxon details
Plotosus limbatus Valenciennes, 1840
217660 (urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:217660)
accepted
Species
Copidoglanis obscurus Günther, 1864 · unaccepted (synonym)
Plotosus nigricans Valenciennes, 1840 · unaccepted
Tandanus obscurus (Günther, 1864) · unaccepted
marine, brackish, fresh, terrestrial
Cuvier, G.; Valenciennes, A. (1840). Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome quinzième. Suite du livre dix-septième. Siluroïdes. v. 15: i-xxxi + 1-540, Pls. 421-455. [Valenciennes authored volume. i-xxiv + 1-397 in Strasbourg edition.]. [details]
Description Occurs in estuaries and along open coasts. Juveniles form dense aggregations.
Description Occurs in estuaries and along open coasts. Juveniles form dense aggregations. [details]
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. (2026). FishBase. Plotosus limbatus Valenciennes, 1840. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=217660 on 2026-07-09
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Nomenclature
original description
Cuvier, G.; Valenciennes, A. (1840). Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome quinzième. Suite du livre dix-septième. Siluroïdes. v. 15: i-xxxi + 1-540, Pls. 421-455. [Valenciennes authored volume. i-xxiv + 1-397 in Strasbourg edition.]. [details]
original description (of Plotosus nigricans Valenciennes, 1840) Cuvier, G.; Valenciennes, A. (1840). Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome quinzième. Suite du livre dix-septième. Siluroïdes. v. 15: i-xxxi + 1-540, Pls. 421-455. [Valenciennes authored volume. i-xxiv + 1-397 in Strasbourg edition.]. [details]
original description (of Copidoglanis obscurus Günther, 1864) Günther, A. (1864). Catalogue of the fishes in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Physostomi, containing the families Siluridae, Characinidae, Haplochitonidae, Sternoptychidae, Scopelidae, Stomiatidae in the collection of the British Museum. v. 5: i-xxii + 1-455. [details]
basis of record Froese, R. & D. Pauly (Editors). (2026). FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. version (04/2025)., available online at https://www.fishbase.org [details]
original description (of Plotosus nigricans Valenciennes, 1840) Cuvier, G.; Valenciennes, A. (1840). Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome quinzième. Suite du livre dix-septième. Siluroïdes. v. 15: i-xxxi + 1-540, Pls. 421-455. [Valenciennes authored volume. i-xxiv + 1-397 in Strasbourg edition.]. [details]
original description (of Copidoglanis obscurus Günther, 1864) Günther, A. (1864). Catalogue of the fishes in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Physostomi, containing the families Siluridae, Characinidae, Haplochitonidae, Sternoptychidae, Scopelidae, Stomiatidae in the collection of the British Museum. v. 5: i-xxii + 1-455. [details]
basis of record Froese, R. & D. Pauly (Editors). (2026). FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. version (04/2025)., available online at https://www.fishbase.org [details]
Ecology
ecology source
Looby, A.; Erbe, C.; Bravo, S.; Cox, K.; Davies, H. L.; Di Iorio, L.; Jézéquel, Y.; Juanes, F.; Martin, C. W.; Mooney, T. A.; Radford, C.; Reynolds, L. K.; Rice, A. N.; Riera, A.; Rountree, R.; Spriel, B.; Stanley, J.; Vela, S.; Parsons, M. J. G. (2023). Global inventory of species categorized by known underwater sonifery. <em>Scientific Data.</em> 10(1). (look up in IMIS), available online at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02745-4 [details] 
Present Present in aphia/obis/gbif/idigbio Inaccurate Introduced: alien Containing type locality
Unreviewed
Description Occurs in estuaries and along open coasts. Juveniles form dense aggregations. [details]Remark In Cuvier & Valenciennes. [details]
| Language | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| English | darkfin eel catfish | [details] |
To Barcode of Life (4 barcodes)
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (1 publication) (from synonym Tandanus obscurus (Günther, 1864))
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (17 publications) (from synonym Plotosus nigricans Valenciennes, 1840)
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (18 publications)
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (4 publications) (from synonym Copidoglanis obscurus Günther, 1864)
To European Nucleotide Archive, ENA (Plotosus limbatus)
To FishBase
To FishBase (from synonym Plotosus nigricans Valenciennes, 1840)
To FishBase (from synonym Tandanus obscurus (Günther, 1864))
To FishBase (from synonym Copidoglanis obscurus Günther, 1864)
To GenBank (5 nucleotides; 5 proteins)
To IUCN Red List (Least Concern)
To NHMUK collection (Copidoglanis obscurus Günther, 1864; HOLOTYPE; NHMUK:ecatalogue:2584431) (from synonym Copidoglanis obscurus Günther, 1864)
To NMNH Extant Collection (Copidoglanis obscurus RAD115618-001) (from synonym Copidoglanis obscurus Günther, 1864)
To NMNH Extant Collection (Copidoglanis obscurus RAD115618-002) (from synonym Copidoglanis obscurus Günther, 1864)
To NMNH Extant Collection (Plotosus limbatus USNM 219577 nontype radiograph dorsal view)
To NMNH Extant Collection (Plotosus limbatus USNM 219577 nontype radiograph lateral view)
To NMNH Extant Collection (Plotosus nigricans RAD115604-003) (from synonym Plotosus nigricans Valenciennes, 1840)
To NMNH Extant Collection (Plotosus nigricans RAD115604-004) (from synonym Plotosus nigricans Valenciennes, 1840)
To ITIS
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (1 publication) (from synonym Tandanus obscurus (Günther, 1864))
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (17 publications) (from synonym Plotosus nigricans Valenciennes, 1840)
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (18 publications)
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (4 publications) (from synonym Copidoglanis obscurus Günther, 1864)
To European Nucleotide Archive, ENA (Plotosus limbatus)
To FishBase
To FishBase (from synonym Plotosus nigricans Valenciennes, 1840)
To FishBase (from synonym Tandanus obscurus (Günther, 1864))
To FishBase (from synonym Copidoglanis obscurus Günther, 1864)
To GenBank (5 nucleotides; 5 proteins)
To IUCN Red List (Least Concern)
To NHMUK collection (Copidoglanis obscurus Günther, 1864; HOLOTYPE; NHMUK:ecatalogue:2584431) (from synonym Copidoglanis obscurus Günther, 1864)
To NMNH Extant Collection (Copidoglanis obscurus RAD115618-001) (from synonym Copidoglanis obscurus Günther, 1864)
To NMNH Extant Collection (Copidoglanis obscurus RAD115618-002) (from synonym Copidoglanis obscurus Günther, 1864)
To NMNH Extant Collection (Plotosus limbatus USNM 219577 nontype radiograph dorsal view)
To NMNH Extant Collection (Plotosus limbatus USNM 219577 nontype radiograph lateral view)
To NMNH Extant Collection (Plotosus nigricans RAD115604-003) (from synonym Plotosus nigricans Valenciennes, 1840)
To NMNH Extant Collection (Plotosus nigricans RAD115604-004) (from synonym Plotosus nigricans Valenciennes, 1840)
To ITIS
