Polypterus weeksii
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Polypterus weeksii |
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| Boulenger , 1898 |
Polypterus weeksii is a species of the pike family(Polypteridae). The fish, which can reach a maximum length of 54 centimeters, live in the central river basin of the Congo . Like all pike, it lives close to the ground and predatory feeds on smaller animals.
features
Polypterus weeksii is more compressed laterally than other pike. The upper jaw is slightly longer or the same length as the lower jaw. On his back he has nine to eleven of the rafts that are typical for pike. The dorsal fin has nine to eleven fin rays , the anal fin 10 to 14. The number of divided fin rays at the end of the dorsal fin and in the caudal fin is 15. The pectoral fins do not extend to the first raft when laid out.
As with all pike, its body is covered with hard ganoid scales. The number of scales in a row along the body is 57 to 65, and a row around the body has 44 to 48 scales. There are 20 to 26 sheds in front of the rafts.
The fish are olive green to gray, the belly yellow. Polypterus weeksii has seven to eight transverse bands on the flanks , which split into two in the lower part. The fins are black spotted or irregularly striped. Young fish have a noticeable black spot on every raft.
literature
- Günther Sterba : The world's freshwater fish. 2nd Edition. Urania, Leipzig / Jena / Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-332-00109-4 .
Web links
- Polypterus weeksii on Fishbase.org (English)
- Polypterus weeksii inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: Moelants, T., 2009. Retrieved December 1, 2013.