Parachanna insignis
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Parachanna insignis |
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| ( Sauvage , 1884) |
Parachanna insignis is a freshwater fish from the snakehead fish familyand occurs from the Kouilou in the Republic of the Congo , in the Ogooué riverbasin in Gabon and in the catchment area of the Congo . In the Ogowe and in some regions of the Congo Basin, the species lives sympatric with Parachanna obscura .
features
Parachanna insignis reaches a maximum length of 53.2 cm and has the elongated body with long dorsal and anal fin, typical of snakehead fish, which tapers slightly towards the rear. The head is flattened and covered with relatively large scales (larger than the body scales). The predatory fish's lower jaw protrudes slightly and is equipped with four to five well-developed fangs. The eyes are on the sides of the head and are relatively large. The dorsal and anal fins have no contact with the rounded, slightly pointed tail fin.
- Fin formula : dorsal 40–44, anal 27–31.
- Sideline scales 73–86, transverse row scales 25–33, 7–10 scales above the sideline and 16–22 below the sideline.
Parachanna insignis is light brown in color and shows five to seven large, tightly packed dark brown spots on the sides of the body. Smaller, often contiguous spots are located below the base of the dorsal fin and on the ventral side. A smaller dark spot can often be seen on the caudal fin base. More or less clearly pronounced oblique, dark stripes are visible on the fins.
Way of life
Little is known about the way of life of Parachanna insignis . The species occurs in rivers, lakes and streams. It is apparently largely piscivorous , so it feeds on other fish. Stomach examinations of nine specimens revealed remains of the genera Pelmatochromis , Tilapia , Hemichromis and Xenomystus as well as parts of carp fish and other groups of fish that were not further identified .
supporting documents
- ^ A b c d e Melanie Stiassny, Guy Teugels, Carl D. Hopkins: The Fresh and Brackish Water Fishes of Lower Guinea, West-Central Africa. Volume 2, Paris 2007, ISBN 978-90-74752-20-6 , pp. 241-243.
- ↑ a b c Parachanna insignis on Fishbase.org (English)
- ↑ Walter R. Courtenay, Jr., James D. Williams: Snakeheads (Pisces, Channidae) - A Biological Synopsis and Risk Assessment. US Geological Survey circular, 2004, ISBN 0-607-93720-3 , p. 123 u. 124.
Web links
- Parachanna insignis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2010. Posted by: Moelants, T., 2009. Retrieved on October 17 of 2019.