The
wels catfish ( or ;
Silurus glanis), also called
sheatfish, is a large
catfish native to wide areas of central, southern, and eastern
Europe, in the basins of the
Baltic,
Black, and
Caspian Seas. It has been introduced to Western Europe and is now found from the United Kingdom all the way east to
Kazakhstan and south to
Greece and
Turkey. It is a scaleless
freshwater fish recognizable by its broad, flat head and wide mouth. Wels catfish can live for at least fifty years and have very good
hearing.