Gray band distichodus
| Gray band distichodus | ||||||||||||
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Grauband distichodus ( Distichodus fasciolatus ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Distichodus fasciolatus | ||||||||||||
| Boulenger , 1898 |
The gray band Distichodus ( Distichodus fasciolatus ) is a Geradsalmlerart that almost the entire Congo basin of the brackish mouth of the Congo in the Atlantic Ocean to the upper Lualaba occurs. The species is missing in the Luapula . Various reports on the occurrence of the species in Lake Tanganyika , among others by the Belgian ichthyologist Max Poll , have meanwhile been questioned.
description
The gray band distichodus can be 60 cm long and 3 kg heavy. It has a relatively elongated body for Distichodus species that is 2.5 times as long ( standard length ) as it is high. The head is small, the standard length is 4.8 times the head length. The mouth is slightly below. The jaws are each occupied with two rows of teeth. The number of teeth in the outer rows of the upper and lower jaw is 20 to 30, which is quite high compared to other Distichodus species.
- Fin formula : dorsal 24–26, anal 12–16, ventral 10.
- Scale formula : 68-78 (mJR)
The basic color of the body is dark green-gray to brownish-yellow on the back, the belly is silvery white. On the sides of the body there are 13 to 20 narrow, dark gray transverse bands ("fasciolatus" = striped). The pelvic fins are transparent.
Way of life
The Grauband Distichodus lives close to the ground above the muddy bottoms of lakes and large rivers. It feeds mainly on aquatic plants, leaves and seeds that have fallen into the water, but also insect larvae and roundworms have been found in stomach examinations. Young fish can be found near the shore just before the rainy seasons in April and December. They mainly eat zooplankton .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Distichodus fasciolatus on Fishbase.org (English)
- ↑ a b Pierre Brichard: The Great Book of Tanganyika Cichlids. With all the other fish on Lake Tanganyika. Bede Verlag GmbH. 1995, ISBN 978-3927997943 , page 456.
- ^ Günther Sterba: Freshwater fish of the world. Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1990, p. 196.