CreatureData

Lau lau

Brachyplatystoma filamentosum (Lichtenstein, 1819)

Status not recordedbony fish

The lau lau (Brachyplatystoma filamentosum) is a species in the family Pimelodidae, order Siluriformes.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the lau lau

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the lau lau live?

Not recorded

Is the lau lau endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the lau lau classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classTeleostei
  4. orderSiluriformes
  5. familyPimelodidae
  6. genusBrachyplatystoma
  7. SpeciesBrachyplatystoma filamentosum (Lichtenstein, 1819)

Synonyms Brachyplatystoma goeldii, Pimelodes filamentosus, Pimelodus filamentosus, Piratinga piraaiba, Platystoma affine, Platystoma gigas, Sorubimichthys gigas

Other names and names in other languages (56)
  • Goliath catfishEnglish
  • KumakumaEnglish
  • Lau-lauEnglish
  • Piraiba catfishEnglish
  • 大苏禄油鲶Chinese
  • anténovec vláknovitýCzech
  • Kumakuma-malleDanish
  • LecheroSpanish
  • JättilapamonniFinnish
  • Bagre laulaoFrench
  • pirá-aívaGuarani
  • piraibaItalian
  • GuiríPortuguese
  • Нитчатая брахиплатисомаRussian
  • ปลาพิไรบ้าThai
  • Letkaimaway
  • 丝条短平口鲶Chinese
  • 大蘇祿油鯰Chinese
  • 絲條短平口鯰Chinese
  • Bagre blancoSpanish
  • bagre blandoSpanish
  • Bagre laulauSpanish
  • Bagre-blancoSpanish
  • Blanco pobreSpanish
  • ValentónSpanish
  • Zúngaro saltónSpanish
  • pirá-mbatáGuarani
  • pirá-paráGuarani
  • pirambihtambáGuarani
  • Bagre amareloPortuguese
  • Bagre brancoPortuguese
  • Bagre-amareloPortuguese
  • Bagre-brancoPortuguese
  • BandeirinhaPortuguese
  • CadetePortuguese
  • ChumbadinhaPortuguese
  • DouradaPortuguese
  • DouradoPortuguese
  • FilhotePortuguese
  • JandiauvaPortuguese
  • JandiáuvaPortuguese
  • JundiáuvaPortuguese
  • Pirá-aíbaPortuguese
  • PirahibaPortuguese
  • Pirahiba pinimiPortuguese
  • PiraíbaPortuguese
  • Piraíba aiuaPortuguese
  • Piraíba aiúaPortuguese
  • Piraíba de pelePortuguese
  • Piraíba grandePortuguese
  • Piraíba ruimPortuguese
  • PiramutabaPortuguese
  • PiranambuPortuguese
  • piratingaPortuguese
  • PiriabaPortuguese
  • UrubaranaPortuguese

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the lau lau

Other species in the same genus Brachyplatystoma.

Gilded catfish

Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii

PimelodidaeNo free photo yet

Laulao catfish

Brachyplatystoma vaillantii

PimelodidaeNo free photo yet

Peru Piraíba

Brachyplatystoma capapretum

PimelodidaeNo free photo yet

Dourade zebra

Brachyplatystoma juruense

PimelodidaeNo free photo yet

CompareLau lau vs Gilded catfishLau lau vs Laulao catfishLau lau vs Tigrinus catfishLau lau vs Peru Piraíba

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

What kind of animal is the lau lau?

The lau lau (Brachyplatystoma filamentosum) belongs to the family Pimelodidae in the order Siluriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Lau lau (Brachyplatystoma filamentosum). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/lau-lau

MLA

“Lau lau (Brachyplatystoma filamentosum).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/lau-lau.

BibTeX
@misc{lau_lau_2026,
  title = {Lau lau (Brachyplatystoma filamentosum)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/lau-lau},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}