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Polypterus congicus Boulenger, 1898

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Polypterus congicus
Picture by van Uitert, K.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Cladistii (bichirs) > Polypteriformes (Bichirs) > Polypteridae (Bichirs)
Etymology: Polypterus: Greek, poly = a lot of + Greek, pteron = wing, fin (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Boulenger.

Issue
This species is a synonym of Polypterus endlicherii Heckel, 1847 in Eschmeyer (Eschmeyer (CofF ver. Sep. 2011: Ref. 88002): Ref. 88002).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; demersal; depth range 0 - 10 m (Ref. 36901). Tropical

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Africa: widespread in the Congo River basin; also present in Lake Tanganyika (Ref. 43033, 88113).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 97.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 41580); max. published weight: 4.4 kg (Ref. 44840)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 12 - 15; Anal spines: 12 - 15. Compressed body (Ref. 42908, Ref. 43035). Lower jaw prominent, longer than upper jaw (Ref. 36901). Number of dorsal finlets: 12-15 (Ref. 42908). Pectoral fin reaching dorsal fin origin (Ref. 45485). Ganoid scales (Ref. 42904, Ref. 43035): 55-59 lateral line scales, 46-52 scales around body, 11-16 predorsal scales (Ref. 2970, Ref. 36901, Ref. 42908, Ref. 44840, Ref. 45485). Dorsal side gray colored, ventral side paler, yellowish, with 6 to 9 darker transversal bars (Ref. 41580, Ref. 43035). Fins with weak blackish spots (Ref. 41580).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Facultative air-breathing (Ref. 126274); This carnivorous fish lives in streams, lakes and zones of flood (Ref. 4910, Ref. 41580). In Lake Tanganyika it is mostly found at the mouth or delta of rivers and lagoons (Ref. 36901). Not commercially important (Ref. 4967).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Suzuki, D., M.C. Brandley and M. Tokita, 2010. The mitochondrial phylogeny of an ancient lineage of ray-finned fishes (Polypteridae) with implications for the evolution of body elongation, pelvic fin loss, and craniofacial morphology in Osteichthyes. BMC Evolutionary Biology 10:1-12. (Ref. 88084)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 16 February 2009

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
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Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
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Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Morphometrics
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References
References

Tools

Bio-Quiz | E-book | Field guide | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree | Catch-MSY |

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

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5002   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00457 (0.00195 - 0.01073), b=3.05 (2.85 - 3.25), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.3   ±0.54 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 (59 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.