Walking catfish
Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus, 1758)
The walking catfish (Clarias batrachus) is a bony fish in the family Clariidae, part of the order Siluriformes. It is also called the Clarias catfish or Philippine catfish, and its scientific name carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1758).
Quick facts about the walking catfish
The IUCN Red List assesses the walking catfish globally as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- freshwater, riverinesrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the walking catfish
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the walking catfish live?
Not recorded
What is the walking catfish?
The walking catfish (Clarias batrachus) is a species of freshwater airbreathing catfish native to Southeast Asia. It is named for its ability to "walk" and wiggle across dry land, to find food or suitable environments. While it does not truly walk as most bipeds or quadrupeds do, it can use its pectoral fins to keep it upright as it makes a wiggling motion with snakelike movements to traverse land. This fish normally lives in slow-moving and often stagnant waters in ponds, swamps, streams, and rivers, as well as in flooded rice paddies, or temporary pools that may dry up. When this happens, its "walking" skill allows the fish to move to other aquatic environments. Considerable taxonomic confusion surrounds this species, and it has frequently been confused with other close relatives. One main distinction between the walking catfish and the native North American ictalurid catfish with which it is sometimes confused, is that the walking catfish lacks an adipose fin. It can survive 18 hours out of water.
From the Wikipedia article “Walking catfish” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Walking_catfish&oldid=1384250317), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the walking catfish endangered?
The walking catfish is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the walking catfish classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderSiluriformes
- familyClariidae
- genusClarias
- SpeciesClarias batrachus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Clarias assamensis, Clarias betrachus, Clarias marpus, Clarias punctatus, Clarius bartrachus, Clarius batrachus, Plotosus hamiltonii, Silurus batrachus
Other names and names in other languages (39)
- Clarias catfishEnglish
- Philippine catfishEnglish
- قرموط الكلاريسArabic
- কৈBangla
- মাগুরBangla
- keříčkovec žabíCzech
- VandremalleDanish
- Den gående malleDanish
- FroschwelsGerman
- Pez gato caminadorSpanish
- KonnamonniFinnish
- Silure grenouilleFrench
- WagurHindi
- माँगुरHindi
- मांगुरHindi
- Ikan LeleIndonesian
- Lele JawaIndonesian
- Lele KampungIndonesian
- ウォーキングキャットフィッシュJapanese
- Ikan Keli KayuMalay
- ငါးခူBurmese
- ItuPampanga
- Clarias batrachusPolish
- Peixe-gato-andadorPortuguese
- Промысловый клариасRussian
- Лягушковый клариевый сомRussian
- మార్పు (చేప)Telugu
- ปลาดุกด้านThai
- Кларій ходячийUkrainian
- Cá trê trắngVietnamese
- 土殺Chinese
- 土虱Chinese
- 塘虱魚Chinese
- 念仔魚Chinese
- 本土鯰Chinese
- 泰國土虱Chinese
- 泰國鯰Chinese
- 蟾鬍鯰Chinese
- 鰱仔Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the walking catfish
Other species in the same genus Clarias.
Barbel
Clarias gariepinus
Catfish
Clarias anguillaris
Cave catfish
Clarias cavernicola
Slender walking catfish
Clarias nieuhofii
Native Hito
Clarias macrocephalus
CompareWalking catfish vs BarbelWalking catfish vs CatfishWalking catfish vs Cave catfishWalking catfish vs Slender walking catfish
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the walking catfish?
The walking catfish is a bony fish in the family Clariidae and the order Siluriformes.
What is the scientific name of the walking catfish?
The scientific name of the walking catfish is Clarias batrachus, placing it in the genus Clarias.
Is the walking catfish endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List assesses the walking catfish globally as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
What other names does the walking catfish have?
The walking catfish is also called the Clarias catfish and the Philippine catfish.
What class does the walking catfish belong to?
The walking catfish belongs to the class Teleostei, within the phylum Chordata.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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.
CreatureData. (2026). Walking catfish (Clarias batrachus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/walking-catfish
“Walking catfish (Clarias batrachus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/walking-catfish.
@misc{walking_catfish_2026,
title = {Walking catfish (Clarias batrachus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/walking-catfish},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}