🏆 The World’s Largest Catfish Species

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1️⃣ Mekong Giant Catfish (Pangasianodon gigas) 🌊

• 📏 Length: Up to 3 m (10 ft)
• ⚖️ Weight: 293 kg (646 lbs) (record holder)
• 🌍 Range: Mekong River Basin (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam)
• 🥦 Diet: Primarily herbivorous (algae, plants)
• ⚠️ Status: Critically Endangered

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2️⃣ Wels Catfish (Silurus glanis) 🇪🇺

• 📏 Length: 2–3 m (6–10 ft)
• ⚖️ Weight: Up to 140–180 kg (300–400 lbs), rare reports of 200 kg+
• 🌍 Range: Europe & parts of Asia
• 🍽️ Diet: Carnivore (fish, waterfowl, small mammals)
• ⚠️ Notes: Invasive outside native range

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3️⃣ Piraíba / Lau-Lau (Brachyplatystoma filamentosum) 🌎

• 📏 Length: Up to 3.6 m (12 ft)
• ⚖️ Weight: Over 200 kg (440 lbs)
• 🌍 Range: Amazon & Orinoco Basins (South America)
• 🍖 Diet: Apex predator (fish, crustaceans, even piranhas)

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4️⃣ Jau Catfish (Zungaro zungaro) 🇧🇷

• 📏 Length: 1.5–2 m (5–7 ft)
• ⚖️ Weight: Up to 120 kg (260 lbs)
• 🌍 Range: Amazon and Paraná River systems (South America)
• 🍖 Diet: Predator (fish, crustaceans, sometimes small mammals)
• ⭐ Known as one of the strongest “river monsters”

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5️⃣ Redtail Catfish (Phractocephalus hemioliopterus) 🟥

• 📏 Length: 1.3–1.8 m (4–6 ft)
• ⚖️ Weight: Up to 80 kg (175 lbs)
• 🌍 Range: Amazon & Orinoco Basins (South America)
• 🍽️ Diet: Omnivore (fish, crustaceans, fruit, detritus)
• 🛑 Popular in the aquarium trade but grows too large for home tanks

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6️⃣ Goonch Catfish (Bagarius yarrelli) 🇮🇳

• 📏 Length: 2–2.4 m (7–8 ft)
• ⚖️ Weight: Up to 100–120 kg (220–260 lbs)
• 🌍 Range: South Asia (India, Nepal, rivers of the Himalayas)
• 🍽️ Diet: Carnivore (fish, sometimes rumored to attack larger prey)
• ⚠️ Known in folklore as a “man-eating catfish”

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7️⃣ Flathead Catfish (Pylodictis olivaris) 🇺🇸

• 📏 Length: 1.2–1.5 m (4–5 ft)
• ⚖️ Weight: Up to 55–60 kg (120–135 lbs)
• 🌍 Range: Native to North America (Mississippi River Basin)
• 🍖 Diet: Carnivore – eats other fish, crustaceans
• 🛑 Considered invasive where introduced

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8️⃣ Blue Catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) 🇺🇸

• 📏 Length: Up to 1.65 m (5.4 ft)
• ⚖️ Weight: Record catch: 65 kg (143 lbs)
• 🌍 Range: Native to Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio river basins; introduced elsewhere in the US
• 🍽️ Diet: Omnivore – fish, mussels, plants
• ⭐ Largest catfish species in North America

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9️⃣ Tiger Shovelnose Catfish (Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum) 🐯

• 📏 Length: 1–1.3 m (3–4 ft)
• ⚖️ Weight: Up to 25–30 kg (55–65 lbs)
• 🌍 Range: Amazon & Orinoco Basins (South America)
• 🍖 Diet: Predator – fish and crustaceans
• 🎨 Known for striking striped “tiger-like” pattern

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📊 Quick Size Comparison

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👉 Bottom line: The Mekong Giant Catfish still holds the record as the largest catfish in the world at 646 lbs, but many other species (Wels, Piraíba, Jau, Goonch) grow to monster sizes and dominate their river systems.