Fish o' the Day - goonch catfish

Posting the Fish o' the Day a little earlier than usual, because of broadcast schedules. It's a tip of the hat to all my guys that are "River Monsters" fans. If I'm not mistaken, they're rebroadcasting the goonch episode tonight (I'll be watching the Yankees and Red Sox open the MLB season - first things first). But, I've got to admit that a television program dedicated entirely to big, nasty freshwater fish is something of a dream come true.

The goonch, Bagarius yarrelli, is one of four living species in the catfish Family Sisoridae. But let's back up for a second. The catfish comprise the Order Siluriformes, and they're an interesting group taxonomically - there are some 36 families (the number changes depending on where you look) containing more than 3,000 species. About one out of every ten vertebrate species is a catfish. The catfish that American's are familiar with, channel catfish and their relatives, are in the Family Ictaluridae. That's a diverse enough group, ranging from tiny madtoms to the giant blue cats and flatheads. It's also North America's largest group of endemic fishes. The other catfish that most of us have some familiarity with are aquarium fish - things like upside-down catfish and glass cats. They're all in other families.

Back to the goonch... All of the Bagarius species are found in rivers of Southeast Asia. B. yarrelli is pretty widely distributed, although it's best known from Indian rivers. It reaches lengths of 6 or 7 feet, with rumors having it much larger (don't they always). Goonch migrate in schools, apparently following schools of giant barb (Catlocarpio siamensis) as they migrate upriver.

The goonch's notoriety comes from sketchy reports of attacks on humans in the Kali River, believed to have been brought about when the fish developed a taste for human flesh after feeding on corpses disposed of from funeral pyres along the river banks. That's where "River Monsters" Jeremy Wade comes in. The attacks on humans are almost certainly exaggerations or fabrications, but it makes for dramatic television. Take a look and judge for yourself. It's on Animal Planet. I'll be watching C.C. and Josh.