Banjo Catfish Identification Guide

Key identification features

• Distinctive banjo-shaped body: a wide, flattened head and forebody that tapers sharply into a slender, whip-like tail
• Sandy brown to mottled coloring that blends closely with river substrate
• Small eyes and a short, downturned mouth adapted for bottom feeding
• Short barbels around the mouth used to detect food in sand or silt
• Tends to lie flat and motionless on the bottom, often partly buried with only eyes exposed
• Rough, sometimes bumpy skin texture that further aids camouflage against sand and gravel
• Small barbel-like whiskers and fringed skin flaps that break up the outline of the head

Common look-alikes

• Corydoras catfish: also small bottom-dwellers, but their bodies are more evenly proportioned and lack the extreme head-to-tail taper
• Other flattened bottom-dwelling catfish: generally lack the sharply narrowing tail that gives the banjo catfish its instrument-like silhouette

Where you'll see one

Banjo catfish inhabit slow-moving, sandy-bottomed rivers and streams across South America, where their camouflage coloring and habit of burying into the substrate make them easy to overlook even when swimming nearby in shallow water.