---
title: "Arius felis"
description: "Ariopsis felis — Peixes. The hardhead catfish (Ariopsis felis) is a species of sea catfish from the northwest Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, and similar to the gafftopsail catfish (Bagre marinus)."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/pt/animal/hardhead-catfish
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Arius felis

> Ariopsis felis — Peixes. The hardhead catfish (Ariopsis felis) is a species of sea catfish from the northwest Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, and similar to the gafftopsail catfish (Bagre marinus).

- Scientific name: *Ariopsis felis*
- Category: `fish` (Peixes)
- Habitats: `sea` (Mar e costa)
- iNaturalist observations: 4329
- Wikidata: [Q513555](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q513555)
- iNaturalist taxon: [94635](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/94635)

## Names

- en: Hardhead Catfish
- de: Hartkopf-Kreuzwels
- es: Bagre boca chica
- fr: Mâchoiron chat
- pt: Arius felis

## Countries with the most observations

US (3966), MX (97)

## Summary

The hardhead catfish (Ariopsis felis) is a species of sea catfish from the northwest Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, and similar to the gafftopsail catfish (Bagre marinus).  It is one of eight species in the genus Ariopsis. The common name, hardhead catfish, is derived from the presence of a hard, bony plate extending rearward toward the dorsal fin from a line between the catfish's eyes. It is an elongated marine catfish that reaches up to 28 in (70 cm) in length and 12 lb (5.5 kg) in weight. Their typical weight is less than 1 lb (450 g), but they commonly reach up to 3 lb (1.4 kg).  They are often a dirty gray color…

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

## Photo

![Arius felis](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/hardhead-catfish/medium.jpg)

Photo: Liz F · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/196863150

## Machine access

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