Polypterus palmas, Shortfin bichir : aquarium

You can sponsor this page

Polypterus palmas Ayres, 1850

Shortfin bichir
Upload your photos and videos
Pictures | Google image
Image of Polypterus palmas (Shortfin bichir)
Polypterus palmas
Picture by Mody, K.

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

Cladistii (bichirs) > Polypteriformes (Bichirs) > Polypteridae (Bichirs)
Etymology: Polypterus: Greek, poly = a lot of + Greek, pteron = wing, fin (Ref. 45335);  palmas: Named after M. Büttikofer, collector of the type-specimens (Ref. 46277).
More on author: Ayres.

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

Freshwater; demersal; pH range: ? - 7.0; dH range: ? - 10. Tropical; 26°C - 28°C (Ref. 2060); 7°N - 10°S

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

Africa: coastal rivers of the Gulf of Guinea, from Guinea Bissau to Liberia and upper Cavally River in Côte d'Ivoire; also in upper Casamance River in Senegal (Ref. 28149, 81263). Reports from the Congo River basin (Ref. 44840, 51193) and Democratic Republic of the Congo (Ref. 4537) probably refer to Polypterus polli, previously a subspecies of Polypterus palmas, and only known from the Congo River basin (Ref. 28149).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 35.3 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 28149)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 7 - 10; Anal spines: 12-14; Vertebrae: 56 - 59. Diagnosis: Polypterus palmas is distinguished from other species of the genus by the upper jaw longer than lower jaw, pectoral fin not reaching the level of the first dorsal fin ray and 27-32 scales between occiput and first dorsal fin ray (Ref. 2835, 28149, 42908, 81263).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Facultative air-breathing (Ref. 126274)

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

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Hanssens, M.M., G.G. Teugels and D.F.E. Thys Van Den Audenaerde, 1995. Subspecies in the Polypterus palmas complex (Brachiopterygii; Polypteridae) from West and Central Africa. Copeia 1995(3):694-705. (Ref. 28149)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; 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

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

Download XML

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 = 0.5002   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00457 (0.00195 - 0.01073), b=3.05 (2.85 - 3.25), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  2.9   ±0.43 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec=5 observed in Aquatium is probably too low; assuming > 10 fecundity (RF)).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low to moderate vulnerability (33 of 100).