Southern Catfish

Silurus meridionalis is a demersal fish endemic to the middle Yangtze River. The upper Yangtze basin is considered the part from the headwaters to the Three Gorges area, or a catchment area of approximately one million square kilometers; this upper basin is quite mountainous. The most downstream element of the upper Yangtze basin is often termed the Sichuan Basin; here the Yangtze cuts through Triassic and Permian material before entering the Three Gorges. The Three Gorges area, generally regarded as the heart of the middle Yangtze, is a stretch of the river that runs approximately 660 kilometers, terminating at the site of the Three Gorges Dam. There are several endemic benthopelagic fishes are found in the Yangtze, including: Anabarilius polylepis, Liobagrus kingi, Bangana rendahli, Pseudogyrinocheilus prochilus, and Sinocyclocheilus grahami; however, these benthopelagic endemics are generally found in the upper Yangtze basin.

aquaculture: commercial