You can sponsor this page

Heterotis niloticus (Cuvier, 1829)

African bonytongue
Upload your photos and videos
Pictures | Stamps, Coins Misc. | Google image
Image of Heterotis niloticus (African bonytongue)
Heterotis niloticus
Picture by Katemo Manda, B.


Nigeria country information

Common names: Afo, Aika, Akau
Occurrence: native
Salinity: freshwater
Abundance: abundant (always seen in some numbers) | Ref: Reed, W., J. Burchard., A.J. Hopson, J. Jenness and I. Yaro, 1967
Importance: commercial | Ref: Ita, E.O., 1984
Aquaculture: commercial | Ref: Garibaldi, L., 1996
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: live export: yes;
Comments: Known from Ogun River (Ref. 3076), Ona-Omi basin (Ref. 33547), Niger River (Ref. 13851), Sokoto River (Ref. 41503), Kainji Lake (Ref. 3034, 3799, 13864, 28265, 45874, 50384), Benue River (Ref. 3064, 43735, 50352), Hadejia River (Ref. 1880) and Lake Chad (Ref. 41490). Introduced in Cross River (Ref. 31256) and Panyam rivers from Shemankar river (Ref. 50594, Ref. 50611). Introduced for aquaculture for the handsome shape, heavy weight and relatively few bones (Ref. 50594). It did not spawn in ponds less than 3 acres (Ref. 50594). Also 1880, 3031, 26112, 42906, 50611.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/ni.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Paugy, D., 1990
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Osteoglossiformes (Bony tongues) > Arapaimidae (Bonytongues)
Etymology: Heterotis: Greek, heteros = other + Greek, ous, otis = ear (Ref. 45335);  niloticus: Named after M. Ehrenberg, scientist (Ref. 50686).
  More on author: Cuvier.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; pelagic; depth range 1 - ? m (Ref. 13851).   Tropical; 25°C - 30°C (Ref. 2060); 16°N - 3°N, 17°W - 37°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences |
Fatal error: Uncaught mysqli_sql_exception: Table 'fbapp.scientificname' doesn't exist in /var/www/html/includes/speciessummary.lib.php:2366 Stack trace: #0 /var/www/html/includes/speciessummary.lib.php(2366): mysqli->query() #1 /var/www/html/country/CountrySpeciesSummary.php(1228): checkPointMApDisplay() #2 {main} thrown in /var/www/html/includes/speciessummary.lib.php on line 2366