Heterotis niloticus, African bonytongue : fisheries, aquaculture, aquarium

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Heterotis niloticus (Cuvier, 1829)

African bonytongue
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Heterotis niloticus
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Classification / Names Nombres comunes | Sinónimos | Catalog of Fishes(Género, Especie) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

> 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 Ecología

; agua dulce pelágico; rango de profundidad 1 - ? m (Ref. 13851). Tropical; 25°C - 30°C (Ref. 2060); 16°N - 3°N, 17°W - 37°E

Distribución Países | Áreas FAO | Ecosistemas | Ocurrencias, apariciones | Point map | Introducciones | Faunafri

Africa: native in all basins of the Sahelo-Sudanese region, the Senegal, Gambia, Corubal, Volta, Ouémé, Niger, Bénoue, Chad and Nile basins and Lake Turkana (Ref. 2920, 3012, 3514). Successful introductions in the storage reservoirs of Côte d'Ivoire, Cross, Sanaga, Nyong and Ogowe rivers and the lower and middle Congo basin, including Ubangui and Kasaï (Ref. 2920); rapidly enlarged its distribution in the Lualaba, upper Congo basin, after extraordinary inundations in 1979 (Ref. 51906). Also introduced in Madagascar (Ref. 3514, 13333). Several countries report adverse ecological impact after introduction.

Length at first maturity / Tamaño / Peso / Age

Maturity: Lm 40.0, range 40 - 40 cm
Max length : 100.0 cm SL macho / no sexado; (Ref. 31256); peso máximo publicado: 10.2 kg (Ref. 2920)

Short description Morfología | Morfometría

Espinas dorsales (total): 0; Radios blandos dorsales (total): 32-37; Espinas anales 0; Radios blandos anales: 34 - 39; Vértebra: 66 - 69. Elongated and robust body, its height 3.5-5 times in SL (Ref. 2920). Relatively short head, its length 3.5-5 times in standard length (Ref. 2920, 5156). Dermal bones of cranium deeply carved by large sensory pits (Ref. 1878, 2920). Lips thick; dermal flap on border of gill cover (Ref. 13851). Teeth conical (Ref. 5156). Dorsal and anal fins spineless, elongated and posteriorly positioned, ending close to the small, rounded caudal fin (Ref. 3032, 13851, 28714, 30488). Caudal peduncle very short (Ref. 2756, 3054, 3069). Scales strong, thick, large (Ref. 28714, 30488), oval, with exposed portion thick and corrugated, with a more or less vermiform sculpture (Ref. 53264). 34-40 lateral-line scales, 2.5/6 scales on lateral side of body before pelvic fin, 5-6 scales between dorsal and anal fin (Ref. 367, 2756, 2920, 5156). Lateral line a straight line from above operculum to middle of caudal peduncle (Ref. 1878). Number of gill rakers increases with size: 33 (young) to 98 on ceratobranchial and 21 (young) to 76 on epibranchial (Ref. 2920). Young specimens with external gills (Ref. 30488). Coloration a uniform gray, brown or bronze (Ref. 2920), darker during period of reproduction (Ref. 367). Young specimens often with dark longitudinal bands and scales with an oval spot in posterior zone of anal and dorsal fins (Ref. 2920).

Biología     Glosario (por ej. epibenthic)

Obligate air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Obligate air-breathing (Ref. 126274), able to survive in deoxygenated waters; the hardiness of this fish, together with its great growth rate make it a candidate for aquaculture in Africa and it has been transported to a number of countries for this purpose (Ref. 1739, 50623). Escapees from ponds into the wild resulted in established populations, which form the basis for fisheries (Ref. 1739). Maximum observed length in Lake Kainji: 100 cm, observed weight: 10000 g (Ref. 3034, 3799). Young found in swampy places among aquatic vegetation (Ref. 5156, 30488). Adults live in open water of rivers and lakes, in both the pelagic and littoral zone (Ref. 5156). Feeds on mud (Ref. 6160, 28714), phytoplankton (Ref. 3023, 28714, 31256), vegetable debris and small invertebrates (Ref. 28714). The only plankton-feeder of the Osteoglossidae (Ref. 13851). Suprabranchial organ has a sensory function and a mechanic function in concentrating little food particles (Ref. 3012, 50624). During breeding, mature adults create a circular nest in swamps (Ref. 13851, 26281, 41544). Young leave the nest after a few days and are guarded by the male (Ref. 26281).

Life cycle and mating behavior Madurez | Reproducción | Puesta | Huevos | Fecundidad | Larva

Breeds in the wet season in swamps and floodplains (Ref. 28714), building a circular nest about 1 m in diameter and 20 to 60 cm deep (Ref. 26281). The rim of the nest is a high wall formed out of plant chunks, about 15-20 cm thick and projecting above the water surface; the bottom is a clean platform of clay or mud; after spawning the fish leave by way of a hole in the wall through which, 5 days later, the young leave the nest and are guarded by the male (Ref. 26281). Also Ref. 3074, 10609, 36900.

Main reference Upload your references | Referencias | Coordinador | Colaboradores

Paugy, D., 1990. Osteoglossidae. p. 114-115. In C. Lévêque, D. Paugy and G.G. Teugels (eds.) Faune des poissons d'eaux douces et saumâtres de l'Afrique de l'Ouest. Tome 1. Coll. Faune Trop. n°XXVIII. Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren and Éditions de l'ORSTOM, Paris. 384 p. (Ref. 2920)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 14 August 2019

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Potential pest (Ref. 40814)





Human uses

Pesquerías: comercial; Acuicultura: comercial; Acuario: Comercial
FAO - Acuicultura: producción; ; Publication: search | FishSource |

Más información

Nombres comunes
Sinónimos
Metabolismo
Despredadores
Ecotoxicología
Reproducción
Madurez
Puesta
Agregación para la puesta
Fecundidad
Huevos
Egg development
Referencias
Acuicultura
Perfil de acuicultura
Razas
Genética
Electrophoreses
heritabilidad
Enfermedades
Procesamiento
Nutrients
Mass conversion
Colaboradores
Imágenes
Stamps, Coins Misc.
Sonidos
Ciguatera
Velocidad
Tipo de natación
Superficie branquial
Otolitos
Cerebros
Visión

Herramientas

Special reports

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Fuentes de Internet

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: Género, Especie | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Acuicultura: producción; ; 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 | Árbol de la vida | Wikipedia: Go, búsqueda | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Expediente Zoológico

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 1.0312   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Nivel trófico (Ref. 69278):  2.7   ±0.1 se; based on diet studies.
Resiliencia (Ref. 120179):  Medio, población duplicada en un tiempo mínimo de 1.4-4.4 años (K=0.22-0.4; Fec > 1,000).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate to high vulnerability (55 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 77.4 [37.9, 190.3] mg/100g; Iron = 1.48 [0.76, 3.78] mg/100g; Protein = 16.8 [14.3, 19.1] %; Omega3 = 0.449 [0.166, 1.282] g/100g; Selenium = 76 [24, 210] μg/100g; VitaminA = 20.9 [6.4, 68.6] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.54 [1.01, 2.45] mg/100g (wet weight);