Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal. Tropical
Africa: known from Senegal, Casamance, Niger, Volta, Chad basin and certain coastal rivers in Guinéa-Bissau, Togo and Benin (Ref. 2938, 7095, 81281). Also in the Nile and Lake Mobutu Sese Seko (Lake Albert) (Ref. 2938, 7095).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 84.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7095); max. published weight: 2.5 kg (Ref. 3799)
Dorsal
soft rays
(total): 20-23;
Anal
soft rays: 23 - 26. Diagnosis: body depth 1.6-1.9x and head length 3.3-4.3x SL; caudal peduncle 0.6-0.8x long than high; short snout, 0.9-1.5x eye diameter; eye diameter 3.9-6x head length; adipose-fin base 1.4-2x longer than distance separating it from rayed dorsal fin; pointed pectoral fins, shorter than head (0.6-0.85x head length) and as long as pelvic fins; cycloid scales; scale formula 17.5-18.5/59-71/18.5-19.5; 13.5-15.5 scales between lateral line and pelvic-fin base; 20-23 dorsal fin branched rays; 23-26 anal fin branched rays (Ref. 2938, 81281).
Occurs in open water and vegetation beds of lakes and flowing water. Ingests mud containing benthic and sedimented algae (Ref. 28714).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Gosse, J.-P., 1990. Citharinidae. p. 261-268. In C. Lévêque, D. Paugy and G.G. Teugels (eds.) Faune des poissons d'eaux douces et saumâtres de l'Afrique de l'Ouest. Tome I. Coll. Faune Tropicale n° XXVIII. Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren and O.R.S.T.O.M., Paris, 384 p. (Ref. 2938)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 125652)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
More information
Common namesSynonymsMetabolismPredatorsEcotoxicologyReproductionMaturitySpawningSpawning aggregationFecundityEggsEgg development
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingNutrientsMass conversion
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 0.5195 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01413 (0.00668 - 0.02988), b=2.98 (2.78 - 3.18), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for species & Subfamily-BS (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 2.2 ±0.13 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): High vulnerability (61 of 100) .
Climate Vulnerability (Ref.
125649): (0 of 100) .
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 77 [26, 190] mg/100g ; Iron = 1.27 [0.74, 2.53] mg/100g ; Protein = 18 [16, 20] % ; Omega3 = 0.231 [0.105, 0.532] g/100g ; Selenium = 74.8 [35.1, 181.6] μg/100g ; VitaminA = 8.26 [2.89, 24.51] μg/100g ; Zinc = 1.36 [0.92, 2.05] mg/100g (wet weight);