PlanetCatfish.com

There was a list of so-called 'useless facts' in yesterday's Sun, and one of them is that catfish have the most taste buds of any creature; as many as 27,000.

I have no idea whether this is true; if it is, I extend my condolences to the unfortunate graduate student who had to count the taste buds.

Anyway, I present it for comment or discussion, because I don't have time to do a Google search on the topic right now.

There is a pretty good article on this subject in one of the volumes of the new catfish book(s). Basically, a catfish's entire body is covered with taste buds with a massive concentration of taste buds in the barbels. That said, all of the information I have seen to date has been for ictalurids. This may be fairly applicable to the other "standard" catfishes (e.g. Bagridae, Pimelodidae, Ariidae, etc) but I have not seen this type of information for armored cats. I suspect that loricariids have a high concentration of taste buds near the caudal peduncle as it is common to see them "tasting" foods with their tails before eating.
-Shane

I noticed that too with Callichthyds as well as Loricariids.
makes up for their clumsy movements; all that armour hinders swift turns.

strangely enough AFAIK Mochokids lack this (pers observation include Synodontis, Mochokiella, Chiloglanis and Euchilichthys); perhaps their branched barbels and big eyes are sufficient enough.
Same thing for Pimelodus pictus. (wich always reminds me of Synodontis alberti)

Only yesterday I noticed that even the ventral fins of some Loricariids contain tastebuds, as I saw one of my Sturisoma landing halfway on a foodmorsel.
he immedeately started to "wriggle" backwards as soon as his ventrals touched it.....

Strangely enough with two very flexible catfish-families, it seems to differ; Trichomycterids can "sit" on a foodmorsel, whereas Amphilius seems to taste with the ventrals as well.
we still have a sole Ituglanis (in Pectorale's tank; it must be 9 years old at least), and 3 Amphilius of slightly younger age, so their behaviour is observed firsthand.

both species have a tremendous sense of smell, but fairly short whiskers and tiny eyes. They start to "get crazy" as soon as they smell food, and both are very very agile. Esp the Ituglanis, wich can "wrap" itself into a fastmoving "pretzelshape".....little or no food escapes him!

but Amphilius definitely reacts when it's 'sitting' on some edable bit.....

Shane wrote:I suspect that loricariids have a high concentration of taste buds near the caudal peduncle as it is common to see them "tasting" foods with their tails before eating
-Shane

Kathy Jinkings' book on Bristlenoses reproduces a map of Ancistrus taste buds. There are some on the body, but I don't remember exactly where.

yeh i have that book, there are even some on the tail!

Could you check her bibliography for the source of that diagram, because I no longer have her book.