Class Osteichthyes
Order Siluriformes
Family Ictaluridae
Catfish of various species occur natively in New Mexico, mostly in the eastern drainages and into the Rio Grande. The Blancan beds in the vicinity of La Union produced a single specimen (a fragment of pectoral spine, UTEP 33-60, Fig. 1) that Vanderhill (1986) thought closely resembles that of the channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). Vanderhill (1986) took its presence as a sign that permanent water, probably in the form of large streams, was present.
Fig. 1. Fossil fragment of a catfish pectoral spine from the vicinity of La Union, Doña Ana Co., NM.
Sites.
Late Blancan (Morgan and Harris 2015).
Early Irvingtonian: Tijeras Arroyo (Morgan and Harris 2015).
Rancholabrean: Tramperos Creek (Morgan and Harris 2015).
Literature: Morgan and Harris 2015; Morgan and Lucas 2005; Vanderhill 1986.
Last Update: 8 Feb 2016