Polypterus senegalus senegalus Cuvier, 1829

Gray bichir

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

Classification	Actinopterygii \| Polypteriformes \| Polypteridae
Synonyms	Polypterus senegalus, Polypterus arnaudi, Polypterus arnaudii, ... more
Common names	Sénégal bichir, Bichir, Sajigɛ, ... more

You can sponsor this page

Upload your photos and videos
| All pictures | Google image |

Image of Polypterus senegalus senegalus (Gray bichir)

Picture by Germeau, G./ Doumont, Y.

Add your observation in Fish Watcher

No AquaMaps available for this species.

Main reference

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

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 50.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3188); max. published weight: 207 g (Ref. 3013)

Environment

Demersal; potamodromous (Ref. 51243); freshwater; pH range: 6.0 - 8.0; dH range: 5 - 19

Climate / Range

Tropical; 25°C - 28°C (Ref. 2060)

Africa: Nile basin and West Africa, including Senegal, Gambia, Niger, Volta and Lake Chad basins (Ref. 2835).
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 811; Anal spines: 1117; Vertebrae: 53 - 59. Cylindrical body (Ref. 2835, Ref. 3036, Ref. 30488). Body depth 7.6 to 10.6 times in standard length; head length 5.75 to 7 times in standard length (Ref. 2835, Ref. 45628). Upper jaw slightly prominent or sometimes jaws are of equal length (Ref. 1989, Ref. 2756, Ref. 2835). Dorsal fin with 8-11 finlets, anterior separated from each other when folded (Ref. 42908). Number of branched dorsal and caudal rays: 15-19 (Ref. 367, Ref. 2835, Ref. 3069). Pectoral fin not reaching the first dorsal spine (Ref. 2756, Ref. 28714, Ref. 13851, Ref. 30488). Ganoid scales (Ref. 42904): 53-61 lateral line scales, 32-40 scales around body, 14-21 predorsal scales (Ref. 2835, Ref. 42908, Ref. 43745). Dorsal surface uniform olive-colored and ventral side white, without blotches or marbling (Ref. 367, Ref. 3036, Ref. 30488). Fins are gray-colored (Ref. 367). Young specimens have three dark longitudinal bands on the flanks, but these markings disappear at an early age (Ref. 2835, Ref. 13851, Ref. 31439).

This species inhabits marginal swamps and freshwater lagoons (Ref. 3066) and it appears to favor sheltered inshore habitats (Ref. 3034); it inhabits the muddy regions at the sides of rivers and swampy waters, where it lies quiet or glides about with snake-like movements (Ref. 49805). During the hottest hours of the day, it comes to the surface just on the outer edge of the vegetation, and it goes back to the bottom when disturbed (Ref. 45962). It feeds on insects, crustaceans, mollusks, frogs and fishes (Ref. 4903, Ref. 28714). Polypterus senegalus senegalus is mainly insectivorous (Ref. 367). Longevity of Polypterus senegalus in captivity can be 34 years and more (Ref. 48954). Larval fish 1.1-3.8 cm SL were found in papyrus root mat and juveniles up to 10 cm SL retaining external gills were found in fringing water hyacinth. Feeds mainly on fishes (Ref. 9695), insects, crustaceans, mollusks, frogs as well as on plant fragments and seeds.


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

Human uses
Fisheries: commercial


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

Tools
Biogeographic modelling \| Bio-Quiz \| E-book \| Field guide \| Identification keys \| Length-frequency wizard \| Life-history tool \| Point map

Special reports
Check for Aquarium maintenance \| Check for Species Fact Sheets \| Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML
Summary page \| Point data \| Common names \| Photos

Internet sources

Estimation of some characteristics with mathematical models

Resilience (Ref. 69278)

Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (tmax=34)


Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)	Price category (Ref. 80766)
Low to moderate vulnerability (27 of 100)	Not marketed/unknown

Entered by Cruz, Tess

Modified by Boden, Gert

Back to Search

Fish Forum

Comments & Corrections

Sign our Guest Book

FishBase mirror site : US - CGNET

Page last modified by : elaxamana, 15 July 2009

Custom Search