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Teleostei (teleosts) > Siluriformes (Catfishes) > Clariidae (Airbreathing catfishes)
Etymology: Clarias: Greek, chlaros = lively, in reference to the ability of the fish to live for a long time out of water.
More on author: Boulenger.

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

Freshwater; demersal. Tropical; 6°N - 7°S

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Africa: from the coastal rivers of south Cameroon (up to the Sanaga river) southwards to the Ogooué system in Gabon and the middle Congo basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Ref. 78218). Outside this area also reported from the Lualaba/upper Congo (Ref. 106245), the Kouilou-Niari in Republic of Congo (Ref. 92841), the Niger Delta (Ref. 57129) and Cross River in Nigeria (Ref. 31256, 57129), and from the Chad (Ref. 13331). A report from the Oueme River in Benin needs confirmation (Ref. 57129, 81644).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 35.6 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 57129)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 81 - 95; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 63 - 76; Vertebrae: 65 - 67. Diagnosis: head length 19.6-24.6% SL (Ref. 81644). Head pointed in dorsal outline; snout short; tooth plates small; eyes dorsally located; "dermosphenotic" and supraorbital bones joined in specimens over 80 mm SL (Ref. 248). Frontal fontanella long and narrow ("knife-shaped")(Ref. 248, 57129, 81644). Occipital process long and oval-shaped (Ref. 248). Distance between occipital process and dorsal-fin base 4.3-10.5% SL (m = 8.1) (Ref. 81644). Gill rakers long, slender and distantly set (Ref. 248), 11-19 on 1st gill arch (Ref. 81644). Suprabranchial organ well developed (Ref. 248). Pectoral spine serrated on both sides (Ref. 57129), strongly on posterior face, weakly on anterior face (Ref. 81644). 65-67 vertebrae (Ref. 57129). Coloration: no information on colour in life (Ref. 57129). Preserved specimens uniformly dark brown on back and sides, and yellowish-brown on belly (Ref. 57129, 81644). Vertical series of small white spots on flanks (Ref. 57129).

Facultative air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Nothing is known on the biology and reproduction of this species (Ref. 78218).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Teugels, G.G., 1986. A systematic revision of the African species of the genus Clarias (Pisces; Clariidae). Ann. Mus. R. Afr. Centr., Sci. Zool., 247:199 p. (Ref. 248)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 29 April 2019

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

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Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00794 (0.00357 - 0.01766), b=2.96 (2.78 - 3.14), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 3.4 ±0.5 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives

Resilience (Ref. 120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (26 of 100).

Clarias pachynema Boulenger, 1903