Caecobarbus geertsii, Congo blind barb : aquarium

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Caecobarbus geertsii Boulenger, 1921

Congo blind barb
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drawing shows typical species in Cyprinidae.

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

Teleostei (teleosts) > Cypriniformes (Carps) > Cyprinidae (Minnows or carps) > Smiliogastrinae
Etymology: Caecobarbus: Latin, caecus = blind + Latin, barbus = barbel (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Boulenger.

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

Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical; 0°S - 5°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Africa: known only from some caves near Mbanza-Ngungu (lower Congo River basin), Democratic Republic of the Congo (Ref. 86866).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 12.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 86866)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Blind fish which lives in caves (Ref. 86866), about (700)750-850 m above sea-level (Ref. 2801, 86866). Feeds on small crustaceans living in the caves and also on animals washed into the caves (Ref. 557), although this needs confirmation (Ref. 86866). Estimated longevity 9-14 years, but may exceed 15 years (Ref. 86866). Not closely related to any extant epigean species of the Congo region. Classified as `textbook and popular press fish' in Ref. 4537.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Expels eggs in a more or less haphazard fashion, the substrate on which the species spawns must have crevices and pores into which the adhesive eggs can roll and be hidden so to prevent predation by its parents or other cave inhabitants.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Vreven, E., A. Kimbembi ma Ibaka and S. Wamuini Lunkayilakio, 2011. The Congo blind barb: Mbanza-Ngungu’s albino cave fish. p.74-75. In W.R.T. Darwall, K.G. Smith, D.J. Allen, R.A. Holland, I.J. Harrison and E.G.E. Brooks (eds.). The diversity of life in African freshwaters: under water, under threat. An analysis of the status and distribution of freshwater species throughout mainland Africa. IUCN, Cambridge, United Kingdom and Gland, Switzerland, 348p. (Ref. 86866)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Vulnerable (VU) (B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv)+2ab(i,ii,iii,iv)); Date assessed: 16 February 2009

CITES


CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration
Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Spawning aggregation
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance
BRUVS
References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Nutrients
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins Misc.
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 1.0000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01000 (0.00244 - 0.04107), b=3.04 (2.81 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.5   ±0.45 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (10 of 100).