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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
Ökologie
; süßwasser 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 / Gewicht / Alter
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 30.0 cm SL Männchen/unbestimmt; (Ref. 31256)
Rückenflossenstacheln (insgesamt) : 0; Afterflossenstacheln: 0; Afterflossenweichstrahlen: 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
Geschlechtsreife | Fortpflanzung | Ablaichen | Eier | Fecundity | Larven
Roberts, T.R., 1992. Systematic revision of the old world freshwater fish family Notopteridae. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 2(4):361-383. (Ref. 7431)
IUCN Rote Liste Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Bedrohung für Menschen
Harmless
Nutzung durch Menschen
Fischereien: nicht kommerziell; Aquarium: Kommerziell
Tools
Zusatzinformationen
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Internet Quellen
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.
Widerstandsfähigkeit (Ref.
120179): hoch, Verdopplung der Population dauert weniger als 15 Monate. (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (27 of 100).
