Large image Description Ictalurus is Greek, meaning fish cat , and furcatus is Latin, meaning forked , a reference to the species forked tail fin.
Blue catfish have a forked tail, and are sometimes very similar to channel catfish.
However, only the Rio Grande population has dark spots on the back and sides. The number of rays in the anal fin is typically 30-35, and coloration is usually slate blue on the back, shading to white on the belly. Biology Blue catfish are primarily a large-river fish, occurring in main channels, tributaries, and impoundments of major river systems. They may tend to move upstream in the summer in search of cooler temperatures, and downstream in the winter in order to find warmer water. Their spawning behavior appears to be similar to that of channel catfish.