Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal. Tropical
Africa: river drainages spanning much of the eastern coast of Madagascar (Ref. 56142).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 22.1 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 56142)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 2; Dorsal soft rays (total): 6 - 7; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 14 - 15; Vertebrae: 44 - 46. Diagnosis: Ancharius fuscus is distinguished from other species of Anchariidae by the following unique characters: shorter snout, 40.1-45.8% of head length vs. 47.1-54.3; longer maxillary barbels, reaching to midpoint of pectoral-fin base vs. not reaching to base of pectoral spine; pectoral spine serrated along its entire posterior margin; vs. along distal half only; and purplish-gray colouration vs. highly mottled dark gray and cream, lead gray or mottled brownish-gray (Ref. 56142). It further differs from Ancharius griseus in having a shorter dorsal-fin spine, 14.6-22.6% of standard length vs. 22.9-24.3%; and larger eye, 11.4-15.4% of head length vs. 9.3-10.1% (Ref. 56142).
Ancharius fuscus is restricted to the middle to upper reaches of several river basins of the eastern coast of Madagascar and to habitats that are not highly degraded (Ref. 56142).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Ng, H.H. and J.S. Sparks, 2005. Revision of the endemic Malagasy catfish family Anchariidae (Teleostei: Siluriformes), with descriptions of a new genus and three new species. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 16(4):303-323. (Ref. 56142)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.7656 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00180 - 0.00842), b=3.12 (2.94 - 3.30), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.4 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (17 of 100).