Polypterus ornatipinnis Boulenger, 1902

Ornate bichir

Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Classification	Actinopterygii \| Polypteriformes \| Polypteridae
Synonyms	... more
Common names	Samaki magamba, Bichir zdobený, Kirjoniilinhauki, ... more

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Image of Polypterus ornatipinnis (Ornate bichir)

Picture by Moreau, J.

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Main reference

Gosse, J.-P. 1984. (Ref. 3188)
Other references | Biblio | Coordinator | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 60.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3188)

Environment

Demersal; freshwater

Climate / Range

Tropical; 26°C - 28°C (Ref. 1672)

Africa: Congo River basin (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Cameroon) (Ref. 3188); Lake Rukwa drainage (Ref. 27292) and Lake Tanganyika (Ref. 4537, Ref. 36901).
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 911; Anal spines: 1415. Subcylindrical body (Ref. 27292, Ref. 36901). Upper and lower jaw of equal length (Ref. 36901, Ref. 42907). Number of dorsal finlets: 9-11 (Ref. 42908, Ref. 51884). Dorsal fin origin well behind pectoral fin (Ref. 4967, Ref. 42873). Ganoid scales (Ref. 27292, Ref. 42904): 58-65 lateral line scales, 38-44 scales around body, 22-27 predorsal scales (Ref. 2970, Ref. 11970, Ref. 42907, Ref. 42908). Dorsal side grey-brown colored, marbled with clear whitish spots (Ref. 11970), the belly is white to yellowish (Ref. 27292). Head finely reticulated (Ref. 42873, Ref. 42901). Fins with white spots alternating with dark spots, forming a continuous bar (Ref. 11970).

Inhabits calm waters of swamps and rivers (Ref. 11970). It feeds on worms and insect larvae when young, but takes larger food, mainly fish, when adult (Ref. 27292). It mainly hunts at night (Ref. 27292). In general they are more or less solitary fish and do not form schools (Ref. 27292).


IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 57073)	Threat to humans
Not Evaluated	Harmless

Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: public aquariums


More information
Countries FAO areas Ecosystems Occurrences Introductions Ecology Diet Food items Food consumption Ration	Common names Synonyms Metabolism Predators Ecotoxicology Reproduction Maturity Spawning Eggs Egg development	Age/Size Growth Length-weight Length-length Length-frequencies Morphometrics Morphology Larvae Larval dynamics Recruitment Abundance	Other references Biblio Aquaculture Aquaculture profile Strains Genetics Allele frequencies Heritability Diseases Processing	Collaborators Pictures Stamps Sounds Ciguatera Speed Swim. type Gill area Otoliths Brains Vision

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Check for Aquarium maintenance \| Check for Species Fact Sheets \| Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

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Summary page \| Point data \| Common names \| Photos

Internet sources

Estimation of some characteristics with mathematical models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)

PD₅₀ = 0.5010

Resilience (Ref. 69278)

Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Fec=200-300)


Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)	Price category (Ref. 80766)
Moderate vulnerability (37 of 100)	Not marketed/unknown

Entered by Froese, Rainer

Modified by Boden, Gert

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