Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic; potamodromous (Ref. 51243). Tropical; 11°S - 27°S
Africa: widespread from the middle and lower Zambezi south to the Pongolo system (Ref. 7248). Also known from the Luachimo River (middle Congo River basin)(Ref. 11970) in Angola (Ref. 11970, 120641). Reported as Labeobarbus cf. marequensis from the lower Congo (Ref. 94750); needs confirmation.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 47.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7248); max. published weight: 6.0 kg (Ref. 7248)
Prefers flowing waters of perennial rivers. Uncommon in dams. Feeds on a wide variety of food items, primarily algae and aquatic insect larvae; also takes small fishes, snails, freshwater mussels and drifting organisms such as beetles and ants. Breeds in spring and summer, migrating upstream in rain swollen rivers to spawn in rapids. Males mature at 70 cm FL, females mature at 28 cm FL. Occurs with the small-scale yellowfish in many Transvaal rivers (Ref. 7248).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Lévêque, C. and J. Daget, 1984. Cyprinidae. p. 217-342. In J. Daget, J.-P. Gosse and D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde (eds.) Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA). ORSTOM, Paris and MRAC, Tervuren. Vol. 1. (Ref. 2801)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 126983)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Gamefish: yes
More information
Common namesSynonymsMetabolismPredatorsEcotoxicologyReproductionMaturitySpawningSpawning aggregationFecundityEggsEgg development
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingNutrientsMass conversion
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00437 (0.00199 - 0.00957), b=3.10 (2.89 - 3.31), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.2 ±0.44 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): Moderate vulnerability (37 of 100).