---
title: "Striped Eel Catfish"
description: "Plotosus lineatus — Fish. Plotosus lineatus, commonly known as the striped eel catfish, is a species of catfish belonging to the eeltail family Plotosidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/striped-eel-catfish
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Striped Eel Catfish

> Plotosus lineatus — Fish. Plotosus lineatus, commonly known as the striped eel catfish, is a species of catfish belonging to the eeltail family Plotosidae.

- Scientific name: *Plotosus lineatus*
- Category: `fish` (Fish)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 3359
- Wikidata: [Q767055](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q767055)
- iNaturalist taxon: [49210](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/49210)

## Names

- en: Striped Eel Catfish
- de: Gestreifter Korallenwels
- es: Pez Gato del Coral
- fr: Poisson-chat rayé
- nl: Gestreepte koraalmeerval
- pl: Sumik koralowy

## Countries with the most observations

AU (963), ID (563), PH (480), NC (171), HK (90), MY (68), NF (55), EG (47), TH (40), MU (39), RE (39), IN (37)

## Summary

Plotosus lineatus, commonly known as the striped eel catfish, is a species of catfish belonging to the eeltail family Plotosidae. Like most other members of the genus, this species possesses highly venomous spines that can be used to sting when threatened; the venom can cause mild to severe symptoms in humans. This species is native to the Indo-Pacific but is now present in the Mediterranean via Lessepsian migration through the Suez Canal.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plotosus_lineatus

## Photo

![Striped Eel Catfish](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/striped-eel-catfish/medium.jpg)

Photo: Jean-Paul Boerekamps · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/142603654

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/striped-eel-catfish?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).