The Claroteidae are a family of catfish (order Siluriformes) found in Africa.[1] This family was separated from Bagridae.[2] However, the monophyly of the family is sometimes contested.[3]
The 12 genera contain 86 known species of claroteids in two subfamilies, Claroteinae and Auchenoglanidinae.[1][2] The subfamily Auchenoglanidinae is sometimes classified as a separate family Auchenoglanididae. This group was also often formerly placed in Bagridae.[1] The monophyly of Auchenoglanidinae is uncontested; it contains the three genera Auchenoglanis, Parauchenoglanis and Notoglanidium.[3][4]
Two commonly known species are the giraffe catfish, Auchenoglanis occidentalis, and the African big-eye catfish, Chrysichthys longipinnis.
The earliest known fossil member of the Claroteidae is Nigerium from the Late Paleocene and Early Eocene of Nigeria and Mali. The extinct genus Eaglesomia is also known from the Middle Eocene of Nigeria. The Late Eocene genus Fajumia from Egypt is of uncertain affinities, but most likely belongs to this group. In addition, extinct species of the extant genus Chrysichthys are known from the Middle Eocene of Tanzania, suggesting significant diversification by that point.[5]
^ abcGeerinckx, T.; Adriaens, D.; Teugels, G. G.; Verraes, W. (2004). "A systematic revision of the African catfish genus Parauchenoglanis (Siluriformes: Claroteidae)". Journal of Natural History. 38 (6): 775–803. doi:10.1080/0022293021000039160.
^ abOtero, Olga; Likius, Andossa; Vignaud, Patrick; Brunet, Michel (2007). "A New Claroteid Catfish (Siluriformes) From the Upper Miocene of Toros-Menalla, Chad: Auchenoglanis soye, sp. nov". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 27 (2): 285–294. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2007)27[285:ANCCSF]2.0.CO;2.
