Black Doradid Catfish Oxydoras niger

The Black Doradid Catfish, also called the Ripsaw Catfish because of the thorns along its side which can cause injury to predators, is native to waters of much of the wider Amazon basin including rivers, swamps and flooded forest of Brazil, Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia.

The name "catfish" comes from the barbels or whiskers on its mouth, used to detect prey. It grows to over a metre long.

Despite the name "Ripsaw" and the thorns, it is not aggressive but is placid and eats invertebrates filtered from the river bed.