Giant Nile Pike
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Giant Nile Pike ( Mormyrops anguilloides ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Mormyrops anguilloides | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The giant Nile pike ( Mormyrops anguilloides ) is an African freshwater fish and the largest representative of the Nile pike (Mormyridae). It is widespread in Africa. Its distribution area extends from Senegal to the White Nile and the Congo Basin . In East Africa it occurs in Lake Tanganyika , Lake Albert and Lake Malawi , in southern Africa in the middle and lower Zambezi , Búzi and Pungwe .
features
With a maximum length of 1.50 meters and a maximum weight of 15 kg, the giant Nile pike is the largest representative of the Nile pike. Its body is elongated, the standard length is 4.9 to 7.5 times the body height. The snout is rounded, not elongated tubular and as wide as high. Their length is 5.7 to 6.5% of the standard length and 21.3 to 23.7% of the head length. The head is flattened, concave on top and 1.6 times longer than high. The head length is 3.4 to 5.1 times included in the standard length. The mouth is large and terminal, the chin not fleshy thickened. The teeth, each in a row of teeth 16 to 28 in the upper jaw and 14 to 28 in the lower jaw, are indented. The eyes are small and closer to the corner of the mouth than to the gill opening. Their diameter is 30 to 50% of the eye relief. The shorter dorsal fin begins above the 10th anal fin ray and reaches 60 to 67% of the anal fin length. It is closer to the caudal fin base than to the snout. The tail fin stalk is relatively long (11% of the standard length) and surrounded in a row of 16 scales each. The caudal fin is relatively small, its lobes are rounded.
- Fin formula : dorsal 21–33, anal 38–51.
- Scale formula : SL 64–68.
Since the Giant Nile Pike has a very large distribution area, the body relations of the individual populations sometimes differ from one another. For Nilhechte the species is relatively light colored, gray-ocher on the upper side with a dark head, dark gray-yellow fins and a whitish belly side and head underside. On the flanks there are horizontal dark stripes parallel to the sideline , which are formed by the dark centers of the individual scales.
Like all Nilhechte, Mormyrops anguilloides is also capable of electrical communication and electrical orientation . Its electrical signal is wavy and three-phase. The total duration of the electrical signal is one millisecond.
Way of life
Young fish of the giant Nilhechts mainly colonize the bank areas and feed on small invertebrates, especially insect larvae and small shrimp. Adult fish live in deeper water zones or in higher under overhangs and floating floating ferns ( Salvinia sp.). They are fish hunters and prey on cichlids , barbels and labeo species. The giant Nile pike can live eight years or older. It spawns during the rainy season . A female can carry over 25,000 eggs.
literature
- Melanie Stiassny, Guy Teugels & Carl D. Hopkins: The Fresh and Brackish Water Fishes of Lower Guinea, West-Central Africa, Volume 1. ISBN 9789074752206
Web links
- Giant Nile Pike on Fishbase.org (English)
- Mormyrops anguilloides inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: Bills, R., Entsua-Mensah, M., Getahun, A., Lalèyè, P., Marshall, B., Moelants, T. & Ntakimazi, G., 2009. Retrieved January 12, 2014.