Synodontis grandiops
| Synodontis grandiops | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bigeye cuckoo whiskered catfish |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Synodontis grandiops | ||||||||||||
| Wright & Page , 2006 |
Synodontis grandiops called in German also bigeye cuckoo Fiederbartwels, belongs to the subfamily of Catfishes (Mochokinae) family Mochokidae .
After the closely related Synodontis multipunctatus (multi-spotted cuckoo's whiskered catfish) it is the second fish species in which brood parasitism has been observed. In terms of time, it is even the first catfish in which this particular reproductive behavior has been determined, but until its later scientific description it was not recognized as an independent taxon , but " lumped together " with the species S. multipunctatus . The brood parasitism itself was observed for the first time by hobby aquarists, but it resulted in several false identifications of the species (it was first referred to as S. petricola and shortly afterwards as S. njassae , two whiskered catfish that do not practice brood parasitism!). For the layperson, the differences between these species are not necessarily easy to see, as they are essentially similar. Even experts can find it difficult to clearly identify the two species of cuckoo whiskers.
features
With a total length of 15 centimeters, S. grandiops remains significantly smaller than S. multipunctatus , which can be up to 28 centimeters long. As the name suggests, S. grandiops has large eyes ( grandiops , a combination of the Latin grandis for large and the Greek ops , which means eye), larger than S. multipunctatus . Furthermore, z. B. the pectoral fins in S. grandiops have seven split rays (as opposed to eight in S. multipunctatus ). Although the differences between the two species are now known, they are still not differentiated in the ornamental fish trade. Most of the catfish referred to as S. multipunctatus are actually Synodontis grandiops .
Fin formula : dorsal II / 7, anal III – IV / 6–8, pectoral I / 7.
Occurrence
So far S. grandiops has only been found in Lake Tanganyika . It is widespread there and inhabits the near-ground zones of the coastal area. This can be sandy or muddy bottoms or areas with empty snail shells.
Reproductive biology
The cuckoo's whiskered catfish are the only known breeding parasites among fish and use mouth-brooding cichlids as hosts. The young catfish hatch from the eggs sooner than the cichlids and use their eggs and larvae as their first food. But it also happens that they eat each other as larvae in the host's mouth, so that ultimately only one young animal remains. Other whiskered catfish species have already been observed to eat their eggs from mouthbrooders during the spawning business. The cuckoo's whiskered catfish also eat part of the mouth-hatching eggs, but add their own. These are then picked up by the female mouthbrooder instead of or together with the mouthbrooder eggs.
Breeding Instructions
It could be that some species of cichlid from Lake Tanganyika learned during evolution that the cuckoo catfish pose a threat to their brood. Tropheus species in particular react extremely aggressively to the catfish when they try to disrupt the spawning business. With other mouthbrooders, e.g. B. Malawi or Lake Victoria cichlids, however, the animals can be reproduced well in the aquarium. These cichlids drive the catfish a little less vehemently. But it also works with Lake Tanganyika cichlids such as Haplochromis horei .
swell
- Schraml, E. (2003): Fiederbartwelse from Lake Tanganyika. DATZ , 56 (8): 60-65.
- ^ Wright, JJ & LM Page (2006): Taxonomic revision of Lake Tanganyikan Synodontis (Siluriformes: Mochokidae). Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History , 46 (4): 99-154.
- ↑ Blank, J. (1981): A surprising experience with Synodontis petricola. DATZ, 34 (2): 44-46.
Web links
- Synodontis grandiops on Fishbase.org (English)