Catfishes: Siluriformes

More than one-tenth of living fishes are catfishes. Most catfishes have one to four pairs of barbels (BAR-buhls) around the mouth. These threadlike structures have many taste buds, which help the fish gather food efficiently. Catfishes usually have spines at the front of the dorsal (DOOR-suhl) fin, or the fin along the midline of the back, and the pectoral (PECK-ter-uhl) fins, the front pair. The spines in some catfishes are venomous and give off poison. Most catfishes are scaleless.