Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Siluriformes (Catfishes) >
Mochokidae (Squeakers or upside-down catfishes) > Mochokinae
Etymology: Synodontis: Greek, syn, symphysis = grown together + Greek, odous = teeth (Ref. 45335); acanthoperca: The specific name is a Latinized combination of the Greek 'acantha', meaning a thorn, and the Latin 'opercul', meaning a cover or lid, alluding to the distinctive opercular spines developed by mature males in this species (Ref. 56332).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical
Africa: endemic to the upper Ogowe River in Gabon (Ref. 56332, 81251).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 4.6 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 56332)
Dorsal spines (total): 2; Dorsal soft rays (total): 7; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8; Vertebrae: 35. Diagnosis: relatively small species, with a maximum standard length below 50 mm (Ref. 56332). Distinctive color pattern including a pair of dark patches on the caudal fin, one patch in the middle of each lobe; posterior margin of opercle with a bony spine (small in females, elongate in males)(Ref. 56332, 81251). Dorsal spine only serrated along posterior edge (Ref. 81251).
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Friel, J.P. and T.R. Vigliotta, 2006. Synodontis acanthoperca, a new species from the Ogôoué River system, Gabon with comments on spiny ornamentation and sexual dimorphism in mochokid catfishes (Siluriformes: Mochokidae). Zootaxa 1125:45-56. (Ref. 56332)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
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