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Chili sea catfish

species of fish

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 6, 2026
Entity authorityQ5691172 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Chili sea catfish (Notarius troschelii) is a species of catfish in the family Ariidae. It was described by Theodore Gill in 1863, originally under the genus Sciades. It inhabits marine and brackish waters in Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Ecuador, El Salvador, Colombia, Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Panama. It dwells at a depth range of 10 to 30 m (33 to 98 ft). It reaches a maximum total length of 70.6 cm (27.8 in), more commonly reaching a TL of 30 cm (12 in).

The chili sea catfish feeds on fish scales. It is currently ranked as Least Concern by the IUCN redlist, although its importance to commercial fisheries is cited as a possible threat to its population. Its meat is marketed fresh.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Chili sea catfish” is species of fish. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Chili, catfish and species, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA practical orientation to terminology and classification, particularly when read beside dated observations, specimens or technical literature. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1863—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Chili, catfish and species is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “species of fish” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5691172. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1863.

Critical limits

A general summary may omit uncertainty, sample limits or methodological disagreement that is explicit in the technical record. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

Best used for
  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
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Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Chili sea catfish”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Chili sea catfish primary sources, Chili sea catfish archive and Chili research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Chili sea catfish”?
  2. Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
  3. Is the terminology current, historical or disputed?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Chili sea catfish” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.