CreatureData

Pirarara

Phractocephalus hemioliopterus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)

Status not recordedbony fish

The pirarara (Phractocephalus hemioliopterus) is a species in the family Pimelodidae, order Siluriformes.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the pirarara

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 pirarara live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the pirarara as introduced in 2 countries.

  1. Mexico
  2. Singapore

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

Is the pirarara 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 pirarara classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classTeleostei
  4. orderSiluriformes
  5. familyPimelodidae
  6. genusPhractocephalus
  7. SpeciesPhractocephalus hemioliopterus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)

Synonyms Phractocephalus bicolor, Pimelodus grunniens, Rhamdia grunniens, Silurus hemioliopterus

Other names and names in other languages (29)
  • Red-tail catfishEnglish
  • Red-tailed catfishEnglish
  • Redtail catfishEnglish
  • 双色护头鲿Chinese
  • anténovec červenoocasýCzech
  • Rødhalet malleDanish
  • Rotflossen-AntennenwelsGerman
  • Pez TorreSpanish
  • PanssaripäämonniFinnish
  • Poisson-chat à queue rougeFrench
  • pesce gatto coda rossaItalian
  • レッドテールキャットフィッシュJapanese
  • LaituPortuguese
  • Сом-плоскоголовикRussian
  • Kırmızıkuyruk Kedi BalığıTurkish
  • 紅尾鴨嘴Chinese
  • 红尾护头鲿Chinese
  • 雙色護頭鱨Chinese
  • Bagre cajaroSpanish
  • GeneralSpanish
  • Guacamayo BagreSpanish
  • Pejje torreSpanish
  • Pez gato de cola rojaSpanish
  • CajaroPortuguese
  • ParabebePortuguese
  • PirabeprePortuguese
  • ToraiPortuguese
  • UararáPortuguese
  • 紅尾護頭鱨Chinese

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the pirarara

Other species in the same family Pimelodidae.

Lau lau

Brachyplatystoma filamentosum

PimelodidaeNo free photo yet

Tiger catfish

Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum

PimelodidaeNo free photo yet

Jahu

Zungaro zungaro

PimelodidaeNo free photo yet

Pictus

Pimelodus pictus

PimelodidaeNo free photo yet

Tiger catfish

Pseudoplatystoma tigrinum

PimelodidaeNo free photo yet

ComparePirarara vs Lau lauPirarara vs Tiger catfishPirarara vs JahuPirarara vs Pictus

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Is the pirarara an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the pirarara as introduced in 2 countries: Mexico and Singapore, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

What kind of animal is the pirarara?

The pirarara (Phractocephalus hemioliopterus) belongs to the family Pimelodidae in the order Siluriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-13. How this page is put together.

Embed a card for this animal on your own site

Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Pirarara (Phractocephalus hemioliopterus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/pirarara

MLA

“Pirarara (Phractocephalus hemioliopterus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/pirarara.

BibTeX
@misc{pirarara_2026,
  title = {Pirarara (Phractocephalus hemioliopterus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/pirarara},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-13}
}