Wels catfish: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the wels catfish lives – recorded in 12 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Silurus glanis
Group	Bony fish
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	12 countries
Continents	Europe
Class	Ray-finned fish
Order	Siluriformes
Family	Siluridae

Where does the wels catfish live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the wels catfish in 12 countries and territories across Europe. In Italy, Netherlands, Russia it is listed as introduced (GRIIS checklists via GBIF).

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the wels catfish endangered?

The wels catfish’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the wels catfish?

The wels catfish (Silurus glanis) is a ray-finned fish in the order Siluriformes and the family Siluridae, genus Silurus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the wels catfish

The wels catfish ( or ; Silurus glanis), also called sheatfish or just wels, is a large species of catfish native to wide areas of central, southern, and eastern Europe, in the basins of the Baltic, Black and Caspian Seas. It has been introduced to several countries in Western Europe, Mediterranean and Asia as a prized sport fish. Its modern day range spans from the United Kingdom in the west to western China in the east.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Wels catfish (revision 1380783402), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q159323 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).