Africa: Inter-tropical but absent in the Gambia basin. Senegal, Niger, Chad, Volta and basins from Sierra Leone to Cameroon; Sudan border, upper Nile, Albert Nile and Murchison Nile, Lake Albert, Victoria, Omo and Lake Turkana, Congo basin (Ref. 5331). Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions
Short description
Analspines: 3;
Analsoft rays: 10 - 16. No fontanel even in young. Supra-orbital bone well developed. Upper jaw in adults longer than lower. Humeral and pre-caudal spots black. Greenish back, white belly. Sometimes with orange lateral stripe from opercle to caudal fin in adults only. Most fish have red-orange to pink fins. Only those from Cavally River have bright red fins. Juveniles with white spot on upper part of caudal peduncle. Gill rakers on first ceratobranch.
More common in rivers than lakes. Feeds on insects, crustaceans, fish, vegetation and debris (Ref. 28714).
