Ilisha africana

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Ilisha africana
Drawing by Pieter Bleeker

Drawing by Pieter Bleeker

Systematics
Cohort : Otomorpha
Order : Herring-like (Clupeiformes)
Subordination : Clupeoidei
Family : Pristigasteridae (Pristigasteridae)
Genre : Ilisha
Type : Ilisha africana
Scientific name
Ilisha africana
( Bloch , 1795)

Ilisha africana , also called West African Ilisha, belongs to the family of pristigasteridae and on the coasts, lagoons and estuaries from Senegal to Angola native to West Africa. Ilisha africana prefers shallow water and is rarely found at depths greater than 25 meters.

features

Some specimens can grow up to 30 cm, but the average size is 18 cm. The body of the fish species is strongly flattened on the sides and moderately high. The center line of the abdomen is covered with 32 to 35 sharp-edged scales. The eyes are large, the lower jaw protrudes. The short dorsal fin sits above the middle of the body or just in front of it, the long anal fin, supported by 45 to 50 fin rays, begins below the dorsal fin. The pelvic fins are very small. Two short tubes extend from the swim bladder and extend into the muscles on both sides of the hemal thorns . All other herring-like species in the habitat of Ilisha africana are slimmer, their anal fin is not as long and the lower jaw does not protrude as far.

Way of life

Ilisha africana lives near the coast in the sea, in the brackish water of lagoons and estuaries and also goes into pure fresh water. The species feeds on zooplankton, small crustaceans and the like. It is heavily fished, with around 32,815 tons in 2008.

Systematics

The species was first named in 1795 by the German natural scientist and ichthyologist Marcus Élieser Bloch in his "Natural History of Foreign Fish" under the name "African Herring" ( Clupea africana ). Poll placed the species in 1984 in the genus Ilisha , which includes 15 other species. However, closer phylogenetic study showed that Ilisha africana in the subfamily Pristigasterinae within the pristigasteridae part (Pristigasteridae), while the remaining Ilisha TYPES belong to the subfamily Pelloninae. A new genus would therefore have to be introduced for the species.

literature

  • Peter JP Whitehead: FAO SPECIES CATALOG, Vol.7. Clupeoid fishes of the world (Suborder Clupeoidei), An annotated and illustrated catalog of the herrings, sardines, pilchards, sprats, shads, anchovies and wolf-herrings. Part 1. Chirocentridae, Clupeidae and Pristigasteridae. ISBN 92-5-102340-9 . Page 263.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Species Fact Sheets Ilisha africana (Bloch, 1795). In: fao.org. Retrieved September 22, 2017 (English).
  2. ↑ a b Ilisha africana on Fishbase.org (English)
  3. ^ ME Bloch: Natural history of foreign fish , Ninth Part, p. 45, Verlag der Morinoschen Kunsthandlung, Berlin, 1795. (digitized version )
  4. ↑ Ilisha africana in the Catalog of Fishes (English)
  5. ^ Sébastien Lavoué, Peter Konstantinidis & Wei-Jen Chen: Progress in Clupeiform Systematics. in Konstantinos Ganias (Ed.): Biology and Ecology of Sardines and Anchovies. CRC Press, 2014, ISBN 978-1-4822-2854-0