Cat-fish

Cat-fish, in Britain, is usually a name for the Wolf-fish (q.v.).—In America the name is commonly applied to a very different fish, one of the genus Pimelodus and family Siluridae. Sixteen species occur in the lakes and rivers of North America. The skin is naked, and the head has eight fleshy barbules. The Common Cat-fish (P. atrarius), or Horned Pout, is one of the commonest river fishes of the United States, especially in the east and north. It is from 7 to 9 inches in length, and is a very important food fish, though its flesh, like that of all the cat-fishes, is insipid. Like all its congeners it prefers muddy bottoms, and is sluggish in its movements. The Great Lake Cat-fish (P. nigricans) is from 2 to 4 feet long, weighs from 6 to 30 pounds, and is found in lakes Erie and Ontario.