The channel Catfish is characteristic of most Ictaluridae. The mouth is wide and large, is fringed with gustatory barbels, and is generally adapted for foraging and sorting in mud to obtain the organic material - predominantly insects, but also snails, worms, plants, and general organic debris. The buccal cavity can be closed completely for squeezing mouthfuls of mud through the gill rakers and gill bars. The oesophagus is longer than in salmonids and leads to a round stomach which is located ventrally. The intestine originates at the anterior, ventral edge of the stomach, then turns dorsally to form several convoluted, half-circles around the stomach before proceeding posteriorly.