Synodontis melanostictus

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Synodontis melanostictus
Synodontis melanostictus.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Siluriformes
Family: Mochokidae
Genus: Synodontis
Species:
S. melanostictus
Binomial name
Synodontis melanostictus
Boulenger, 1906

Synodontis melanostictus is a species of upside-down catfish endemic to Lake Tanganyika and its tributaries. It has been found in Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Burundi. [1] [2] It was first described by British-Belgian zoologist George Albert Boulenger in 1906, based upon a specimen from the Lofubu River. [1] [2] The species name "melanostictus" is derived from a combination of the Greek melano, meaning black, and the Greek stiktos, meaning punctured or spotted. This refers to the black spotted pattern that occurs on the body of this species. [3]

Contents

Description

Like all members of the genus Synodontis, S. melanostictus has a strong, bony head capsule that extends back as far as the first spine of the dorsal fin. [4] The head is about ​1⁄4 of the standard length of the fish. [1] The head contains a distinct narrow, bony, external protrusion called a humeral process. [3] The shape and size of the humeral process helps to identify the species. In S. melanostictus, the humeral process is triangular, wide at the base and tapering to a sharp point, with a poorly defined ridge on the bottom edge, and becoming rough on the upper edge. [1] The top edge is slightly concave. [1] The total length of the humoral process is about two thirds of the length of the head. [1] The diameter of the eye is about ​1⁄7 of the length of the head. [1]

The fish has three pairs of barbels. The maxillary barbels are on located on the upper jaw, and two pairs of mandibular barbels are on the lower jaw. The maxillary barbel has a narrow membrane attached near the base and is straight without any branches. [1] It extends at least as far as the base of the pectoral fin, about as long as the ​3⁄10 to ​4⁄10 as long as the body. [1] The outer pair of mandibular barbels extends just past the front of the pectoral girdle, about as long as head, [1] and contains seven to eight, long branches, with short secondary branches present. [1] The inner pair of mandibular barbels is about ​1⁄2 as long as the outer pair, about ​1⁄2 of the length of the head, [1] with four to five pairs of branches, with secondary branches present. [1]

The skin of S. melanostictus lacks the tiny vertical skin folds that are found on most other species of Synodontis found in Lake Tanganyika. [1] The exact purpose of the skin folds is not known, but it is typically a characteristic of the species of Syndontis that are endemic to Lake Tanganyika. [1] Thin papilla are present all over the head and body, but do not extend onto the fins. [1]

The front edges of the dorsal fins and the pectoral fins of Syntontis species are hardened into stiff spines. [3] In S. melanostictus, the spine of the dorsal fin is long, about ​2⁄3 as long as the head, [1] slightly curved, smooth on the front and serrated on the back, and ends with short, black filament. [1] The remaining portion of the dorsal fin is made up of seven branching rays. [1] The spine of the pectoral fin is slightly curved, about as long as the dorsal fin spine, finely serrated on the front and with large serrations on the back. [1] The pectoral spine ends in moderate length, black filament. [1] The rest of the pectoral fins are made up of nine to ten branching rays. [1] The adipose fin does not contain any rays, is long and well developed, and has a convex shape. [1] The pelvic fin contains one unbranched and six branched rays. [1] The front edge of the pelvic fin is vertically aligned before the back end of the dorsal fin. [1] The anal fin contains three to five unbranched and seven to nine branched rays; it is vertically aligned with the first ​1⁄3 of the adipose fin. [1] The tail, or caudal fin, is forked, and contains eight rays on the upper lobe, nine rays on the lower lobe. [1]

The mouth of the fish faces downward and has wide lips that contain papilla. [1] All members of Syndontis have a structure called a premaxillary toothpad, which is located on the very front of the upper jaw of the mouth. This structure contains several rows of short, chisel-shaped teeth. In some species, this toothpad is made up of a large patch with several rows in a large cluster. In other species of Syndontis, this toothpad is clearly divided into two separate groups, separated by a thin band of skin that divides the toothpad. [1] This character is used as a method of differentiating between two different but similar species of Syndontis. [1] In S. melanostictus, the toothpad is interrupted, or separated into two distinct groups. [1] On the lower jaw, or mandible, the teeth of Syndontis are attached to flexible, stalk-like structures and described as "s-shaped" or "hooked". [3] [4] The number of teeth on the mandible is used to differentiate between species; in S. melanostictus, there are 23 to 36 teeth on the mandible, arranged in a single row. [1]

Some of the species of Synodontis have an opening or series of openings called the axillary pore. It is located on the sides of the body below the humeral process and before the pectoral fin spine. The exact function of the port is not known to scientists, although its presence has been observed in seven other catfish genera. Fish in the genus Acrochordonichthys are known to secrete a mucus with toxic properties from their axillary pore, but there is no scientific consensus as to the exact purpose of the secretion or the pore. [1] S. melanostictus does not have an axillary pore. [1]

The back of the fish is grayish to copper brown, and is covered with small, scattered spots that sometimes intersect. [1] The underside is pale. [1] The barbels are white, and the fins have small black spots similar to those on the body. [1]

The maximum standard length of known specimens is 42.5 centimetres (16.7 in) with a total length of 52 centimetres (20 in). [1] [2] Generally, females in the genus Synodontis tend to be slightly larger than males of the same age. [5]

Habitat and behavior

In the wild, the species is endemic to Lake Tanganyika, which has an observed temperature range of 22 to 26 °C (72 to 79 °F), an approximate pH of 8.5 – 9, and dH range of 4-15. [6] [2] It inhabits littoral to benthic zones over shell, sand, and mud bottoms, to a maximum depth of 150 metres (490 ft). [1] The reproductive habits of most of the species of Synodontis are not known, beyond one report that found gravid females containing over 3,000 eggs. [1] Spawning likely occurs during the flooding season between July and October, and pairs swim in unison during spawning. [7] As a whole, species of Synodontis are omnivores, consuming insect larvae, algae, gastropods, bivalves, sponges, crustaceans, and the eggs of other fishes. [1] The growth rate is rapid in the first year, then slows down as the fish age. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Synodontis membranaceus</i> Species of fish

Synodontis membranaceus, known as the moustache catfish, is a species of upside-down catfish that is native to northern Africa. It was first described by French naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1809 as Pimelodus membranaceus, from specimens obtained in the Nile River. The species name membranaceus refers to membranes present on the barbels of the fish.

Synodontis dhonti is a species of upside-down catfish endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo where it is only known from Lake Tanganyika. It was first described by Belgian-British zoologist George Albert Boulenger in 1917, based upon a single specimen collected from Lake Tanganyika at Kilewa Bay, in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The species is named after M.G. Dhont-De Bie, who accompanied the collector, Dr. L. Stappers, on his expedition. At one point, identified specimens Synodontis irsacae was believed to be juvenile individuals of S. dhonti and the two were considered to be the same species, but further research has identified differences between the two species and they are once again recognized as distinct from each other.

<i>Synodontis granulosus</i> Species of fish

Synodontis granulosus is a species of upside-down catfish endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Zambia, and Tanzania, where it is only known from Lake Tanganyika. It was first described by Belgian-British zoologist George Albert Boulenger in 1900, from specimens collected at multiple points along the shore of Lake Tanganyika. The species name comes from the Latin word "granulum", meaning of grain, and refers to the granular papillae present on the skin of the fish's body.

<i>Synodontis nigrita</i> Species of fish

Synodontis nigrita, known as the false upside down catfish, is a species of upside-down catfish that occurs widely in northern Africa. It was first described by French zoologist Achille Valenciennes in 1840. The type specimen is in the Muséum National d' Histoire Naturelle de Paris.

Synodontis polli, known as Poll's synodontis, is a species of upside-down catfish endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Zambia, and Tanzania, where it is only known from Lake Tanganyika. It was first described by Belgian ichthyologist Jean-Pierre Gosse in 1982, from specimens collected at multiple points along the shore of Lake Tanganyika. The species name comes from the Latin word "granulum", meaning of grain, and refers to the granular papillae present on the skin of the fish's body.

<i>Synodontis petricola</i> Species of fish

Synodontis petricola, known as the cuckoo catfish, or the pygmy leopard catfish, is a species of upside-down catfish endemic to Burundi, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Tanzania where it is only known from Lake Tanganyika. It was first described by Belgian ichthyologist Hubert Matthes in 1959. The species name "petricola" is derived from a combination of the Latin petra, meaning stone or rock, and the Latin cola, meaning inhabitant. This refers to the rocky environment where this species is found.

<i>Synodontis caudovittatus</i> Species of fish

Synodontis caudovittatus, known as the white-finned synodontis, is a species of upside-down catfish that is native to the Nile basin of Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Sudan. It was first described by British-Belgian zoologist George Albert Boulenger in 1901, from specimens collected in the White Nile, at the mouth of Lake No in South Sudan. The species name caudovittatus comes from the Latin word cauda, meaning "tail", and the Latin word vitta, meaning "stripe" and refers to the coloration of the tailfin.

<i>Synodontis frontosus</i> Species of fish

Synodontis frontosus, known as the Sudan squeaker, is a species of upside-down catfish that is widely distributed throughout northern and central Africa. It has been reported in Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda. It was first described by French zoologist Léon Vaillant in 1895, from specimens collected in the White Nile in Sudan. The species name frontosus is Latin, and means "broad head".

<i>Synodontis grandiops</i> Species of fish

Synodontis grandiops is a species of upside-down catfish endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Tanzania, where it is only known from Lake Tanganyika. It was first described by Jeremy John Wright and Lawrence M. Page in 2006, from specimens collected at multiple points along the shore of Lake Tanganyika. The species name is a Latinized combination of the Latin "grandi", meaning large or big, and the Greek "ops", meaning eye, a reference to the relatively large eyes of this fish.

Synodontis ilebrevis is a species of upside-down catfish endemic to Zambia, where it is only known from Lake Tanganyika. It was first described by Jeremy John Wright and Lawrence M. Page in 2006, from specimens collected from Lake Tanganyika at Cape Chaitika, Zambia. The species name comes from the Latin word "ile", meaning intestine, and the Latin word "bevis", meaning short, and refers to the relatively short gut of this species.

<i>Synodontis nigromaculatus</i> Species of fish

Synodontis nigromaculatus, known as the spotted squeaker, the blackspotted squeaker, or the speckled squeaker, is a species of upside-down catfish that is found widely in southern Africa. It has been identified in Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It was first described by British-Belgian zoologist George Albert Boulenger in 1905, from specimens collected in Lake Bangweulu in Zambia.

Synodontis obesus, known as the Coas synodontis, is a species of upside-down catfish that is native to the coastal drainages of Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo. It was first described by British-Belgian zoologist George Albert Boulenger in 1898. The species name obesus is derived from the Latin word obesus, meaning "fat".

<i>Synodontis omias</i> Species of fish

Synodontis omias is a species of upside-down catfish native to the Niger River basin of Guinea, Mali, Niger and Nigeria. It was first described by German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist Albert Günther in 1864, from a specimen collected in Jebba, Nigeria, on the Niger River. There have been very few specimens of this species identified, and it may be the same species as S. budgetti from the Upper Niger.

<i>Synodontis resupinatus</i> Species of fish

Synodontis resupinatus is a species of upside-down catfish that is native to the Niger basin and the Bénoué River of Cameroon, Mali, and Nigeria. It was first described by British-Belgian zoologist George Albert Boulenger in 1904, from specimens obtained near Lokoja, Nigeria.

<i>Synodontis serratus</i> Species of fish

Synodontis serratus, known as the shield-head squeaker, is a species of upside-down catfish that is native to the Nile basin of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan. It was first described by German naturalist and explorer Eduard Rüppell in 1829, from specimens obtained near Cairo, Egypt. The species name serratus comes from the Latin word serra, meaning "saw", which refers to the serrated pectoral spines of the species.

<i>Synodontis soloni</i> Species of fish

Synodontis soloni, known as the scissortail synodontis, is a species of upside-down catfish that is endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo where it is found in the Ubangi River and the rapids just below Stanley Pool. It was first described by British-Belgian zoologist George Albert Boulenger in 1899, from the Congo River in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The species name soloni is a patronym and in memory of Alexandre Solon, who assisted with the collection of fish.

<i>Synodontis sorex</i> Species of fish

Synodontis sorex is a species of upside-down catfish that is widely distributed in the rivers of northern Africa. It was first described by German zoologist Albert Günther in 1864, from specimens obtained in the upper Nile River, near Khartoum, Sudan. The species name sorex comes from the Latin word for shrew or shrew-mouse, the allusion was not explained. It possibly describes the pointed snout or the long, slender teeth.

Synodontis tanganyicae is a species of upside-down catfish endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, and Tanzania, where it is only known from Lake Tanganyika. It was first described by Russian-American ichthyologist Nikolai Andreyevich Borodin in 1936, from specimens collected at Kasaga, in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The species name tanganyicae comes from the habitat of the species, Lake Tanganyika.

Synodontis lucipinnis is a species of upside-down catfish endemic to Zambia, where it is only known from the Musende Rocks area (Mpulungu) of Lake Tanganyika. It was first described by Jeremy John Wright and Lawrence M. Page in 2006. The species name "lucipinnis" is derived from a combination of the Latin luci, meaning bright or clear, and the Latin pinnis, meaning fin. This refers to the light coloration in a patch on the base of the fins of this species.

Synodontis irsacae is a species of upside-down catfish endemic to Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Tanzania, where it is only known from Lake Tanganyika. It was first described by Belgian ichthyologist Hubert Matthes in 1959, from specimens collected from Lake Tanganyika at Kalundu, in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The species name " irsacae" is derived from the abbreviation "I.R.S.A.C.", or Institut pour la Recherche Scientifique en Afrique Centrale. For many years, specimens of the species were considered to be juvenile members of S. dhonti, but in 2006, J.J. Wright and L.M. Page identified unique characteristics of this species that established that they were a unique species.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 Wright, J.J. and L.M. Page (2006). "Taxonomic Revision of Lake Tanganyikan Synodontis (Siluriformes: Mochokidae)". Florida Mus. Nat. Hist. Bull. 46 (4): 99–154.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2016). "Synodontis melanostictus" in FishBase. June 2016 version.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Synodontis melanostictus Boulenger, 1906". Planet Catfish. 23 Jun 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  4. 1 2 Cuvier, Georges. (1934). The Animal Kingdom Arranged in Conformity with its Organization, Volume 10. Translated by Griffith, Edward. London: Whittaker and Co. p. 406.
  5. 1 2 H. M. Bishai & Y. B. Abu Gideiri (1965). "Studies on the biology of genus Synodontis at Khartoum". Hydrobiologia . 26 (1–2): 85–97. doi:10.1007/BF00142257. S2CID   24587047.
  6. ↑ Smith, F. (2001). "A preliminary investigation of some chemical and physical profiles of Lake Tanganyika" (PDF). Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  7. ↑ John P. Friel & Thomas R. Vigliotta (March 2, 2009). "Mochokidae Jordan 1923: African squeaker and suckermouth catfishes". Tree of Life Web Project . Retrieved 19 October 2016.

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