Erpetoichthys calabaricus, Reedfish : aquarium

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Erpetoichthys calabaricus Smith, 1865

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

Cladistii (bichirs) > Polypteriformes (Bichirs) > Polypteridae (Bichirs)
Etymology: Erpetoichthys: Greek, erpeton = creeping thing + Greek, ichthys = fish (Ref. 45335);  calabaricus: Named after the locality where the fish was taken: Old Calabar (Ref. 42916).

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

Freshwater; brackish; demersal; pH range: 6.0 - 8.0; dH range: 5 - 19; depth range 0 - ? m (Ref. 557). Tropical; 22°C - 28°C (Ref. 1672)

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

Africa: coastal species, inhabiting river estuaries from Ouémé River in Benin to Sanaga River in Cameroon (Ref. 53784, 81628). Also reported from the Chiloango River (Ref. 1878, 2835, 3188, 42870, 43033, 81263), but this record needs confirmation and needs to be supported by additional material evidence (Ref. 53784, 81628).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 31.4  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 37.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 81628)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 7 - 13; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 9 - 14; Vertebrae: 110 - 113. Diagnosis: The dorsal fin is composed of a series of well-separated spines each supporting one or several articulated rays and a membrane (Ref. 42791). Erpetoichthys calabaricus is distinguished from all Polypterus species by its very elongated, anguilliform body and the absence of ventral fin and subopercle (Ref. 2835, 42768, 81263).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Facultative air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Found in slow flowing rivers and standing waters (Ref. 557). Apparently restricted to reedy habitats (Ref. 42768). It moves snake-wise over the bottom, but it can also side-wind quite rapidly through the water (Ref. 42873). Feeds at night on worms, crustaceans and insects (Ref. 7020). Able to breathe air and thus can tolerate low oxygen concentrations. Larvae have external gills and resemble salamander larvae (Ref. 557). The maximum size of 90 cm TL (Ref. 3188) is probably erroneous; the largest size in collections is 37 cm (Ref. 78138).

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

Parallel swimming courtship; female deposits few eggs between anal fins of male, where they are fertilized and then scattered in vegetation where they immediately stick to substrate. This procedure is repeated many times. Eggs are 2.1-2.6 mm in diameter. Larvae hatch after 70 hours but remain attached to vegetation; 22 days after hatching the yolk sac is absorbed and larvae start feeding.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Britz, R., 2007. Polypteridae. p. 168-173. In M.L.J. Stiassny, G.G. Teugels and C.D. Hopkins (eds.) The fresh and brackish water fishes of Lower Guinea, West-Central Africa. Volume I. Collection Faune et Flore tropicales 42. Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Paris, France, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France, and Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgium. 800 pp. (Ref. 81628)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Near Threatened (NT) (B2a); Date assessed: 07 June 2019

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

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

More information

Countries
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Occurrences
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Ecology
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Common names
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Eggs
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Age/Size
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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 | Public aquariums | 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 = 1.0001   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00166 (0.00112 - 0.00246), b=3.02 (2.91 - 3.13), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.3   ±0.40 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 1.2 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (tmax=20; Fec = 264).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (22 of 100).