Catfish are favorites of fishing enthusiasts, and a variety of species have been introduced into Southern California lakes and reservoirs — among them the black bullhead catfish.

Some of them, of course, escaped into the wild, and the black bullhead is one of the most common species of these oddly whiskered fish found in Orange County’s rivers and creeks.

The “whiskers” — really organs called barbels — serve a vital purpose: they are packed with tastebuds, and they help the catfish zero in on its prey. The catfish’s entire body, in fact, is covered with tastebuds, as if it were a disembodied tongue swimming through marshes and creeks, mostly at night, to hunt for the creatures it feeds on.

These include small fish and crayfish, another non-native brought to Southern California by humans.

The catfish also become food for native animals like great blue herons — as the photo reveals.

The bullhead catfish is tough enough to survive in a variety of freshwater habitats, helped along by a protective reproductive strategy: eggs deposited beneath a bank or in a hollow log are guarded by the males until the tiny catfish hatch and disperse. In another month’s time, careful observers might catch sight of groups of hundreds of baby catfish in area streams, looking a bit like tadpoles except for their tiny barbels, perhaps with their protector lurking nearby.

Scientific name: Ameiurus melas

Source: Camm Swift, senior project scientist, Entrix Corp.

Next week: Subterranean termite

Photo by: Paul Bersebach

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