Teleostei (teleosts) >
Osteoglossiformes (Bony tongues) >
Notopteridae (Featherbacks or knifefishes) > Xenomystinae
Etymology: Xenomystus: Greek, xenos = strange + Greek, mystax = whiskered, used by Belon in 1553 to describe all fishes with whiskers (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: This is a toponym referring to the River Niger; the river (or its mouth, in the case of marine species) being the type locality. (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Günther.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal; pH range: 6.0 - 8.0; dH range: 5 - 19. Tropical; 22°C - 28°C (Ref. 1672)
Africa: widely distributed in tropical Africa, in the Nile, Chad, Niger, Ogowe and Congo basins (Ref. 7431). Also present in coastal rivers in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Togo, Benin and Cameroon, but not found in Côte d'Ivoire nor Ghana (Ref. 7431).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 30.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 31256)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 108 - 130. Body height 5-5.4 x SL, head length 6.9-7.5 x SL, snout smaller than eye, eye diameter 3.8-4.5 x head length, maxilla extends to vertical of eye center or just under the eye's posterior border, ventral spines 25-32
Obligate air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Prefers quiet waters with vegetation. Females lay 150-200 eggs of 2 mm diameter (Ref. 1672). Can produce barking sounds. Comes to the surface from time to time to swallow air. Feeds at dusk and during the night on worms, crustaceans, insects and snails (Ref. 7020).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Roberts, T.R., 1992. Systematic revision of the old world freshwater fish family Notopteridae. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 2(4):361-383. (Ref. 7431)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: commercial
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 1.0010 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00813 (0.00304 - 0.02174), b=2.99 (2.77 - 3.21), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.3 ±0.44 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (27 of 100).
