1. Pylodictis olivaris By Benjamin Hurta
Flathead catfish
Pylodictis olivaris By
Benjamin Hurta

2. About The Flathead Catfish
The Flathead Catfish is one of the largest species of catfish in North America. The Flathead catfish is an “Opportunistic eater” meaning that it primarily feeds off of the bottom eating dead and decaying organisms but if the opportunity arises it will prey on living organisms. Flathead catfish are found in large rivers, streams and lakes, usually over hard bottoms. They prefer deep, sluggish pools, with logs and other submerged debris that can be used as cover. Young flatheads live in rocky or sandy runs in the river and in the riffles.

3. Where Flathead Catfish are found
Flathead catfish are native to the lower Great Lakes and the Mississippi River basin, from western Pennsylvania southward.
They are also in Gulf of Mexico watersheds, and can live in reservoirs. In Pennsylvania, flatheads are found mainly in the Ohio, Allegheny and Monongahela rivers.
They are NOT  native to the Susquehanna and Schuylkill river drainages.

4. Source of Invasion
Dumping may have been the cause although the source of the flatheads found in the Susquehanna and Schuylkill Rivers is actually unknown.  A few flathead catfish have been reported from the Fairmont Dam fish-way on the Schuylkill River each year since 1999.
In 2002 Flathead Catfish were found in small numbers in the Susquehanna River, its impact on the streams balance is yet to be determined.

5. Damage caused by species
 Flathead catfish are concerning because of their increasing populations, rapid range expansion, and capacity to consume significant amounts of native fish species. This means that in those areas they may be competing with native fishes, including other ecologically and economically important living resources, for available food.

6. Control /management strategies
Research indicates that the only way to remove them is intense fishing and electrofishing and that may provide a way to remove enough individuals so that native fish populations can survive.

7. Where the Flathead Catfish occurs now
Tan = Native Range
Red = Invasive Range
Tan = Native Range
Red = Invasive Range

8. Citations
Aquatic Invasive Species. (n.d.). Retrieved January 4, 2016, from
Flathead Catfish. (n.d.). Retrieved January 6, 2016, from
PFBC Flathead Catfish Feature Page. (n.d.). Retrieved January 4, 2016, from
Flathead Catfish in Pennsylvania. (n.d.). Retrieved January 4, 2016, from