Teleostei (teleosts) >
Anabantiformes (Gouramies, snakeheads) >
Anabantidae (Climbing gouramies)
Etymology: Ctenopoma: Greek, kteis, ktenos = comb + Greek, poma, -atos = cover (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Günther.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic; potamodromous (Ref. 51243). Tropical; 22°C - 26°C (Ref. 2059)
Africa: Senegal and Gambia rivers, entire Niger River drainage except lower Niger, Lake Chad drainage and coastal drainages in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin (Ref. 57414). Also reported from Gabon (Ref. 6803) and Nile basin (Ref. 6803, 28714).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 17.4 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 57961); 13.5 cm SL (female)
Dorsal spines (total): 16 - 19; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9 - 12; Anal spines: 8 - 10; Anal soft rays: 9 - 12; Vertebrae: 25 - 27. Diagnosis: snout blunt; jaws weakly protrusible (ascending process of premaxilla short, not reaching anterior border of orbit); labyrinth composed of a more complex, folded plate; adults larger than 75 mm SL; body depth into SL usually fewer than 3 times; spot at base of caudal fin without pale ring in adults; lachrymal never serrated; flanks without faint mottling; scales in lower vertical series 10-11 (rarely 9); 5 scales from last pored scale in upper lateral line to dorsal-fin base (counting pored scale)(Ref. 57414).
Obligate air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Inhabits marginal vegetation, swamps, and floodplains. Browses on plant tissues with ostracods, dipteran larvae, beetles, mollusks and debris (Ref. 28714).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Norris, S.M., 2003. Anabantidae. p. 691-707. In C. Lévêque, D. Paugy and G.G. Teugels (eds.) Faune des poissons d'eaux douce et saumâtres de l'Afrique de l'Ouest, Tome 2. Coll. Faune et Flore tropicales 40. Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgique, Museum National d'Histoire Naturalle, Paris, France and Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Paris, France. 815 p. (Ref. 57414)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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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=0.01479 (0.00823 - 0.02660), b=2.93 (2.77 - 3.09), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.2 ±0.43 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): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
