Polypterus bichir bichir Lacepède, 1803

Nile bichir

Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Classification	Actinopterygii \| Polypteriformes \| Polypteridae
Synonyms	Polypterus bichir, ... more
Common names	Bichir, Gwando, Dabib el hut, ... more

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Image of Polypterus bichir bichir (Nile bichir)

Picture by Günther, A.C.L.G.

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Main reference

Gosse, J.-P. 1990. (Ref. 2835)
Other references | Biblio | Coordinator | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 72.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 42908); max. published weight: 2,650 g (Ref. 367)

Environment

Demersal; potamodromous (Ref. 51243); freshwater

Climate / Range

Tropical

Africa: Nile River, Lake Turkana and Omo River (Ref. 2835); Lake Chad, Chari River and Logone River (Ref. 2835).
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 1418; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 13 - 16; Vertebrae: 61 - 62. Subcylindrical body; its depth 6.8-10.3 times in its length; head length 4.1-5.5 times in body length (Ref. 2835). Head width 1.7-2.3 times in head length, eye-diameter 8.5-13.0 times in head length (Ref. 2835). Lower jaw slightly longer than upper jaw (Ref. 2835, Ref. 42908). Number of dorsal finlets: 14-18 (Ref. 42908); dorsal finlets overlapping when folded down (Ref. 31439). Number of branched dorsal and caudal rays: 19-21 (Ref. 367). Pectoral fin reaching first dorsal spine (Ref. 367). Ganoid scales (Ref. 36900, Ref. 42904): 63-70 lateral line scales; 46-54 scales around body; 11-16 predorsal scales (Ref. 2835, Ref. 42908). Lateral line scales are notched on the posterior border (Ref. 2835). The color is olive, but white on the ventral side, with three darker longitudinal bands on the lateral side, which are more visible in young than adults; pectoral and pelvic fins have greenish and yellowish transversal bands (Ref. 367, Ref. 2835).

Polypterus bichir bichir likes shallow water and will often lie basking fo hours near the surface, but when swimming the fish is very pliant, and can turn and twist like an eel (Ref. 4904). The eggs are deposited in weeds, where the adult fish guards the eggs and young (Ref. 36900). It feeds on bottom-feeding fish (Ref. 36900) and is essentially piscivorous (Ref. 367).


IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 57073)	Threat to humans
Not Evaluated	Harmless

Human uses
Aquarium: public aquariums


More information
Countries FAO areas Ecosystems Occurrences Introductions Ecology Diet Food items Food consumption Ration	Common names Synonyms Metabolism Predators Ecotoxicology Reproduction Maturity Spawning Eggs Egg development	Age/Size Growth Length-weight Length-length Length-frequencies Morphometrics Morphology Larvae Larval dynamics Recruitment	Other references Biblio Aquaculture Aquaculture profile Strains Genetics Allele frequencies Heritability Diseases Processing	Collaborators Pictures Stamps Sounds Ciguatera Speed Swim. type Gill area Otoliths Brains Vision

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Internet sources

Estimation of some characteristics with mathematical models

Resilience (Ref. 69278)

Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.)


Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)	Price category (Ref. 80766)
Moderate vulnerability (43 of 100)	Not marketed/unknown

Entered by Cruz, Tess

Modified by Torres, Armi G.

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Page last modified by : elaxamana, 15 July 2009

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