Finally the pike
Finally the pike | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Endlicher's pike ( Polypterus endlicherii ) |
||||||||||||
Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
Scientific name | ||||||||||||
Polypterus endlicherii | ||||||||||||
Heckel , 1847 |
Endlicher Flösselhecht ( Polypterus endlicherii ) is an African freshwater fish from the family of Flösselhechte (Polypteridae), which occurs in the Nile , in the catchment area of Shari and Lake Chad , in Niger , Volta , Bandama , upper Comoé and in the Ouémé . It was named after Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher , with whom Heckel was in lively contact.
features
Finally, pike is a maximum of 63 cm long and can reach a maximum weight of 3.3 kg. The elongated body, covered with ganoid scales arranged in oblique rows, is approximately round in cross section in the front two thirds. The last third of the body is flattened laterally. The body height is 9.7 to 13.7% of the standard length , the head length 19.2 to 23.8% of the standard length. The back of the fish is yellowish or greenish in color, the belly is lighter. On the sides of the body there are irregular, oblique transverse ligaments. The flattened head and fins show dark spots. The lower jaw of the fish is longer than the upper jaw and protrudes. Finally, pike has 50 to 59 scales in a row along the sideline , 40 to 46 scales in a row around the body and 11 to 16 scales in front of the first raft. The number of dorsal flippers is 11 to 14. The anal fin is supported by 14 to 18 fin rays. The pectoral fins extend to the first raft. The number of vertebrae is 53 to 57. The caudal fin and the rear dorsal fin section, which has fused together with the caudal fin, are supported by 20 to 26 fin rays.
Like all pike, Endlicher's pike is a bottom-dwelling fish species that can also breathe air through the swim bladder that acts as a lungs . It lives in rivers and swamps and feeds mainly on fish, as well as snails and crustaceans.
literature
- Frank Schäfer: Polypterus: Flösselhechte / Bichirs. Publisher: ACS, June 2004, ISBN 978-3936027396
- Suzuki, D., MC Brandley and M. Tokita, 2010. The mitochondrial phylogeny of an ancient lineage of ray-finned fishes (Polypteridae) with implications for the evolution of body elongation, pelvic fin loss, and craniofacial morphology in Osteichthyes. BMC Evolutionary Biology 10: 1-12.