[10] Firewood catfish have been introduced to areas outside of their native range, including Lake Superior through live trade in 2005[11] and the San Francisco Bay via aquarium release in 2019.

[7] The largest recorded specimen of adult firewood catfish was reported at 1500 mm (4.9ft) in standard length (a measurement from the tip of the snout to the posterior end of the last vertebrae).

[13] Standard adult and subadult appearance includes a flat head (the species name, planiceps, comes from the Latin for flathead or flat-headed)[14] with a long upper jaw and a snout adorned by long barbels attached to the jawbone that provide them with sensory information that aids prey-seeking and navigation in deep, murky water.

[16] Firewood catfish are demersal fish that live in freshwater environments with high temperatures, tropical climates, and dense vegetation.

[10] As a result of their position at the top of aquatic food chains, many predatory catfish have frequently shown the highest mercury concentrations of measured fish in the Amazon Basin.