Flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris) is found from the warmer Great Lakes south into the Mississippi and Missouri River areas south to Georgia and Alabama and south into Mexico. This large catfish can be up to 60 inches long. The lower jaw projects in front of the upper jaw.

Rohde etal in their book on the freshwater fish of the Virginia-Carolina area note that this fish is stocked in several rivers, lakes and reservoirs in North Carolina and eastern Virginia, and is often common.

Pflieger notes in his book on Missouri fishes that this species is found almost everywhere in the state. He notes this is a slender catfish with a flattened head and a slightly notched tailfin. He notes this catfish is one of the most abundant larger catfishes in the state.

North American Catfish group, Family Ictaluridae, is found in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. This group includes the bullheads, madtoms, and channel cats. Many of the species in this family have spines on their pectoral and dorsal fins that have poison tips. One should be most careful when handling any catfish as stings from these spines can be very painful. There are over 40 species found in North America and several more from Mexico and Guatemala. The madtoms (Genus Noturus) has approximately 25 species.

These fish are without scales and have 8 barbels. For example, Pflieger noted in his 1975 book on Missouri fishes that the state of Missouri contained 15 species from this family.

Catfish, Order Siluriformes, are found throughout the world. Although most of them are freshwater kinds, a few are found in a marine environment. They are characterized by having whiskers and barbels around their mouths. Many search for their food by smell and make little use of their small eyes.

Bony fish, Class Teleostomi, are a class of chordates that include the majority of fish-like animals found on earth. They are characterized by a bony jaw and a bony skeleton. They are found in both fresh and marine waters.

Backboned Animals (Phylum Chordata) are the most advanced group of animals on earth. These animals are characterized by having a spinal cord or backbone. Most members have a clearly defined brain that controls the organism through a spinal cord. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals are in this phylum.

Currently, some taxonomists believe that the fish should be divided into two groups (sharks and regular fishes) and that there are some other primitive groups in the phylum such as hagfish or lampreys.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

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