African arowana

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African arowana
Heterotis niloticus.png
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Osteoglossiformes
Family: Osteoglossidae
Subfamily: Arapaiminae
Genus: Heterotis
Rüppell, 1828
Species:
H. niloticus
Binomial name
Heterotis niloticus
(G. Cuvier, 1829)
Heterotis niloticus Map.jpg
Red:extant , Light red: possibly extant, Green:introduced
Synonyms

Genus

  • ClupisudisSwainson, 1839
  • HelicobranchusHyrtl, 1854

Species

  • Clupisudis niloticus(G. Cuvier, 1829)
  • Sudis niloticaG. Cuvier, 1829
  • Sudis adansoniiG. Cuvier, 1829
  • Heterotis adansonii(G. Cuvier, 1829)
  • Sudis niloticusRüppell, 1829 (ambiguous)
  • Heterotis adansoniValenciennes, 1847
  • Heterotis ehrenbergiiValenciennes, 1847
Heterotis niloticus - MHNT Heterotis niloticus MHNT ICHT 1995 69.jpg
Heterotis niloticus - MHNT

The African arowana or Nile arowana (Heterotis niloticus) is a species of bonytongue. Despite being called an "arowana", the African arowana is more closely related to arapaimas, the only other members in the subfamily Arapaiminae, than the South American, Asian, and Australian arowanas in the subfamily Osteoglossinae (Arapaiminae is sometimes considered to be a separate family from Osteoglossidae). [2] [3] Compared to these, the African arowana has a more terminal mouth and is the only one that feeds extensively on plankton. [4]

Contents

Description

The African arowana is a long-bodied fish with large scales, long dorsal and anal fins set far back on the body, and a rounded caudal fin. Its height is 3.5 to 5.0 times standard length. It has been reported to reach up to 1 m (3.3 ft) long and weigh up to 10.2 kg (22 lb). [4]

This fish is gray, brown, or bronze in color. Coloration is uniform in adults, but juveniles often have dark longitudinal bands.

African arowanas have air-breathing organs on its branchiae, enabling them to survive in oxygen-depleted water. A suprabranchial organ allows it to concentrate small planktonic food particles and also has a sensory function.

Range

This species is widespread throughout Africa, where it is native to all the watersheds in Sahelo-Sudanese region, Senegal, and Gambia, as well as parts of eastern Africa. This range includes the basins of the Corubal, Volta, Ouémé, Niger, Bénoué, and Nile Rivers, as well as those of Lake Chad and Lake Turkana. It has been successfully introduced to Côte d'Ivoire, the Cross River in Nigeria, the Sanaga and Nyong Rivers in Cameroon, and the Ogooué River in Gabon, as well as the lower and middle Congo River basin, including Ubangui and Kasaï Rivers. It has also been introduced in Madagascar. In some cases, introduction is reported to have had a negative impact on the local ecology. [4]

Human use

African arowana is used locally as a food fish and has been collected in the past for the aquarium trade. It is not aggressive like its relatives. [5] It is aquacultured in its native range, being a very successful culture due to its tolerance for crowding and ease of feeding. [6]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arowana</span> Family of fish

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver arowana</span> Species of fish

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian arowana</span> Species of freshwater fish

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<i>Scleropages jardinii</i> Species of fish

Scleropages jardinii, the Gulf saratoga, Australian bonytongue, Pearl arowana or northern saratoga, is a freshwater bony fish native to Australia and New Guinea, one of two species of fishes sometimes known as Australian arowana, the other being Scleropages leichardti. It has numerous other common names, including northern saratoga, toga and barramundi. It is a member of the subfamily Osteoglossinae, a (basal) teleost group. Its scientific name is sometimes spelled S. jardini.

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Scleropages is a genus of fish in the family Osteoglossidae found in Asia and Australia. All of these species are carnivorous and have great jumping ability. These species are highly valued as aquarium fish, particularly by those from Asian cultures. In 2003, a study redescribed several naturally occurring color varieties of S. formosus into four separate species. The majority of researchers dispute these redescriptions, arguing that the published data are insufficient to justify recognizing more than one Southeast Asian species of Scleropages and that divergent haplotypes used to distinguish the color strains into isolated species were found within a single color strain, contradicting the findings. They are considered monotypic, consisting of closely related haplotypes based on color. The ancestor of the Australian arowanas: S. jardinii and S. leichardti, diverged from the ancestor of the Asian arowanas about 140 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous period. The morphological similarity of all seven species shows that little evolutionary change has taken place recently for these ancient fish. The genus had a much wider distribution during the early Cenozoic, with fossil remains known from the Paleocene of Niger and Belgium, and from the Eocene of China.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern saratoga</span> Species of fish

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References

  1. Diouf, K.; Akinyi, E.; Azeroual, A.; Entsua-Mensah, M.; Getahun, A.; Lalèyè, P.; Moelants, T. (2020). "Heterotis niloticus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T182580A134764025. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T182580A134764025.en . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2021). "Osteoglossidae" in FishBase . July 2021 version.
  3. Hilton, E. J.; Lavoué, S. (2018). "A review of the systematic biology of fossil and living bony-tongue fishes, Osteoglossomorpha (Actinopterygii: Teleostei)". Neotropical Ichthyology. 16 (3). doi: 10.1590/1982-0224-20180031 .
  4. 1 2 3 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2014). "Heterotis niloticus" in FishBase . July 2014 version.
  5. Nanconnection (2003). (แอบ)คุยเรื่องปลาตู้ โครงการ 2 : ปลาอโรตัวเป็นวาน่าเลี้ยง[(Secretly) talk about the aquarium fish. Project 2: Aro fish is a Wana] (in Thai). Bangkok: SE-ED Book Center. ISBN   9789745348653.
  6. Wikondi, Jeanne; Tonfack, Djouatsa Juvenal; Meutchieye, Félix; Tomedi, Tabi Minette (2022). "Aquaculture of Heterotis niloticus in Sub-Saharan Africa: Potentials and Perspectives". Genetics and Biodiversity Journal. 6: 37–44. doi: 10.46325/gabj.v6i1.195 . Retrieved 6 December 2022.