Tiger tetra
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Tiger tetra ( Hydrocynus vittatus ) |
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| Hydrocynus vittatus | ||||||||||||
| Castelnau , 1861 |
The tiger tetra ( Hydrocynus vittatus ) is a freshwater predatory fish from the African tetra family (Alestidae). It occurs in West Africa in the rivers Senegal , Volta , Mono , Ouémé , Niger , Bénoué and Lake Chad , also in Lower Guinea in the Cross River and Sanaga , and in the rest of Africa in the Nile , Omo , Congo , Lualaba , Lufira , Luapula , Malagarasi , Zambezi , Limpopo , Rovuma , Shire , Rufiji , Ruaha , Wami , Ruvu and Okavango , as well as in the lakes Turkana , Bangweulu , Mweru , Tanganjika , Upemba and Rukwa .
features
The tiger tetra grows to a maximum of 74 (females) or 105 (males) cm long, weighs a maximum of 28 kg and can reach an age of eight years. Its color is grayish. Each individual scale is marked with a dark spot, so that parallel longitudinal stripes appear on the sides of the body. The tiger tetra differs from Hydrocynus forskahlii , which has a similarly wide distribution area, by its less elongated body and the black tips and edges on the inside of the forked caudal fin and the adipose fin . The dorsal fin is not as far forward as in Hydrocynus forskahlii , approximately at the level of the base of the pelvic fin. It is supported by 10, the anal fin by 15 fin rays.
- Scale formula : 7.5 (8.5) / 43-53.
Two rows of scales lie between the sideline and the scaly base of the pelvic fin.
Way of life
The tiger tetra prefers warm, oxygen-rich water. It occurs in larger rivers and lakes and forms schools of fish of the same size. It is generally described as wild and insatiable and feeds opportunistically on the most common prey fish, especially tetras of the genera Brycinus and Micralestes , carp fish of the genus Barbus , in Lake Tanganyika mainly on Lake Tanganyika sardines ( Limnothrissa miodon ) . In January 2014 it was documented that the tiger tetra preyed on barn swallows ( Hirundo rustica ) flying low over the water .
literature
- Melanie Stiassny, Guy Teugels, Carl D. Hopkins: The Fresh and Brackish Water Fishes of Lower Guinea, West-Central Africa. Volume 1, Paris 2007, ISBN 978-90-74752-20-6 .
Web links
- Tiger tetra on Fishbase.org (English)
- Hydrocynus vittatus inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: Azeroual, A., Bills, R., Cambray, J., Getahun, A., Hanssens, M., Marshall, B., Moelants, T. & Tweddle, D., 2009. Retrieved September 16 2013.
Individual evidence
- ^ GC O'Brien, F. Jacobs, SW Evans, NJ Smit: First observation of African tigerfish Hydrocynus vittatus predating on barn swallows Hirundo rustica in flight. In: Journal of Fish Biology. Volume 84, Issue 1, January 2014, pp. 263–266. doi: 10.1111 / jfb.12278
- ↑ Fish leaps to catch birds on the wing. Tigerfish swallows swallows after grabbing them out of the air over African lake. Video. doi: 10.1038 / nature.2014.14496