Atopochilus
| Atopochilus | ||||||||||||
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Atopochilus savorgnani , the type species of the genus |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Atopochilus | ||||||||||||
| Sauvage , 1879 |
Atopochilus ( Gr .: "atopos" = absurd + "cheilos" = lip) is a genus of the African catfish family Mochokidae . Of the seven species of the genus, five are found in the Congo Basin , another lives in Gabon and southern Cameroon and the seventh in the catchment area of the Wami in eastern Tanzania. Atopochilus is closely related to the genus Euchilichthys .
features
Atopochilus species have a moderately elongated body, adapted to life in rapids and fast-flowing waters, and grow to be 6 to 14 cm long. Like all species of the subfamily Chiloglanidinae, they have a sucking mouth that is formed from the modified lips. This includes a very large maxillary , only loosely connected tooth plates on the premaxillary and the inclusion of the outer lower barbels in the suction mouth. The lower jaw teeth are evenly arranged in a straight row. The pores of the sensory system on the lower jaw are reduced to two on each side in Atopochilus . The front edge of the pelvic fin ray is unsawed , the rear edge is serrated , in Atopochilus savorgnani strongly serrated . Most Atopochilus species have only five or six flexible rays in their dorsal fin, Atopochilus savorgnani has seven, like most other Mochokidae.
species
- Atopochilus chabanaudi Pellegrin, 1938
- Atopochilus christyi Boulenger, 1920
- Atopochilus macrocephalus Boulenger, 1906
- Atopochilus mandevillei Poll, 1959
- Atopochilus pachychilus Pellegrin, 1924
- Atopochilus savorgnani Sauvage, 1879
- Atopochilus vogti Pellegrin, 1922
literature
- Melanie Stiassny, Guy Teugels & Carl D. Hopkins: The Fresh and Brackish Water Fishes of Lower Guinea, West-Central Africa , Volume 1 ISBN 978-9074752206 , page 701.
Web links
- Atopochilus on Fishbase.org (English)