Common names: sea-catfish (English), bagre (Espanol), cominata (Espanol)
 
Notarius biffi Betancur & Acero 2004

  Chomba sea-catfish


Body elongate; head narrow, snout overhanging and tapering to a square point, length 1/4-1/3 of SL; rear of head covered with large scattered granules, granules also on 4 crests that extend forwards between eyes; groove on top of head shallow, moderately wide, narrowing to rear; bone on nape at rear of head triangular, its base width 5.5-6.6% of SL; narrow crescent-like bone before dorsal fin; between front nostrils narrow (4.8-5.7% of SL); mouth narrow (width 9-11% of SL); lips thin to moderate; eyes moderate (3.8-4.5% of SL); upper barbels 16.9-21.9% of SL; lower jaw barbells 10.2-13.1% of SL;  roof of mouth with 4 tooth patches, side ones large, long, with waist, pointed at rear; gill opening wide, membranes not adhering to chest;  11-12 rakers on first gill arch, 10-13 on second; no rakers on rear faces of first two arches; bony plate before dorsal spine semilunar, narrow; dorsal fin I, 7; base of 2nd  dorsal fin a littler shorter than that of first dorsal; anal fin 19-20; pectoral 9-10, its spine strongly serrated; plate above pectoral base triangular, pointed; tail base depth  6.1-6.7% of SL.

Back brown to grey; flanks and belly silver; dorsal fin pale to dark; other fins dusky; barbels grey.

Size: 38 cm.

Habitat: demersal; coastal marine and in high-salinity estuaries.

Depth: 10-20 m?

The Gulf of Fonseca (El Salvador) to central Costa Rica.