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Polypterus palmas Ayres, 1850

Shortfin bichir
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Polypterus palmas
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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: 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 Identification keys | 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 Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | 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

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Collaborators
Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Morphometrics
Pictures
References
References

Tools

Bio-Quiz | E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

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

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

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).