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Siluriformes (Catfishes) >
Schilbeidae (Schilbid catfishes)
Etymology: mystus: Probably from the Greek "mustes" which literally means "initiated in the mysteries" (Ref. 43912).
More on author: Linnaeus.
Taxonomic Remarks
This species was commonly known as Schilbe (Eutropius) niloticus; the morphological examination of the holotype of Silurus mystus Linnaeus, 1758 (De Vos and Skelton, 1990) has shown that this specimen and Schilbe (Eutropius) niloticus Rüppel, 1829 belong to the same species; this results in the substitution of the name S. niloticus by the oldest name available, in this case, S. mystus.
Ambiente: milieu / zona climatica / distribuzione batimetrica / gamma di distribuzione
Ecologia
; acqua dolce demersale; potamodromo (Ref. 138143); distribuzione batimetrica 4 - 69 m. Tropical; 23°C - 27°C (Ref. 1672); 25°N - 27°S, 17°W - 45°E
Africa: Nilo-Sudanese species, known from the Nile basin and in West Africa from the Senegal River eastwards to the Cross, Wouri and Sanaga River, including the Chad basin (Ref. 43912). Various reports, including from the Ogowe and Congo River basin or Zambia and Zimbabwe, are based on misidentifications (Ref. 43912). Reports from Angola and Tanzania are questionable and need confirmation.
Lunghezza alla prima maturità / Dimensione / Peso / Età
Maturità: Lm 13.1, range 15 - ? cm
Max length : 35.0 cm SL maschio/sesso non determinato; (Ref. 57127); peso massimo pubblicato: 250.00 g (Ref. 3799); Età massima riportata: 7 anni (Ref. 7248)
Spine dorsali (totale) : 1; Raggi dorsali molli (totale) : 6. Diagnosis: adipose fin present (Ref. 43912, 57127, 81643) and fully developed (Ref. (Ref. 57127, 81643). Anterior nostrils more closer to each other than to posterior ones; inner margin of pectoral-fin spine strongly denticulate posteriorly (Ref. 43912, 57127, 81643). Nasal barbel reaching to anterior eye margin (Ref. 57127, 81643), but never extending beyond posterior margin of eye (Ref. 43912, 57127, 81643). Mouth subterminal (Ref. 57127, 81643), snout reaching beyond lower jaw (Ref. 43912). 45-64 branched anal-fin rays and 8-15 gill rakers on lower limb of first gill arch (Ref. 43912, 57127, 81643).
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal; Cross section: compressed.
Lacustrine as well as fluviatile species, confined to lakes and moderate to large rivers (Ref. 43912). Adults shoal in standing or slowly flowing open water with emergent or submerged vegetation. Generally more active at night or in subdued light. They feed from mid-water and surface waters on a wide variety of foods including fish, insects, shrimps, snails, plant seeds, and fruit. Oviparous, eggs are unguarded (Ref. 205). Often important spawning migrations occur (Ref. 43912). They breed during the rainy season and may be either a single or multiple spawner in different localities, laying eggs on vegetation. May live up to 6-7 years (Ref. 7248). Max total length 45.0mm (Ref. 43912). Also caught with drawnets. In general considered as a flavoured, first class eating fish (Ref. 43912).
Distinct pairing (Ref. 205).
De Vos, L., 1995. A systematic revision of the African Schilbeidae (Teleostei, Siluriformes). With an annotated bibliography. Ann. Mus. R. Afr. Centr., Sci. Zool., 271:1-450. (Ref. 43912)
Stato della Lista Rossa IUCN (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2 (Global))
Minaccia per l'uomo
Harmless
Usi umani
Pesca: commerciale; Pesce da pesca sportiva: si; Acquario: Commerciale
Strumenti
Rapporti speciali
Scarica XML
Fonti Internet
Stime basate su modelli
Indice di diversità filogenetica (Fonte Biblio.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00741 (0.00588 - 0.00934), b=3.02 (2.95 - 3.09), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref.
93245).
Livello trofico (Fonte Biblio.
69278): 3.5 ±0.4 se; based on diet studies.
Resilienza (Fonte Biblio.
120179): Medio, tempo minimo di raddoppiamento della popolazione 1.4 - 4.4 anni (K=0.09-0.94; tmax=6-7; assuming fec > 10,000).
Vulnerabilità della pesca (Ref.
59153): Moderate vulnerability (40 of 100).
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Nutrienti (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 128 [51, 292] mg/100g; Iron = 1.48 [0.69, 2.75] mg/100g; Protein = 16.9 [15.1, 18.7] %; Omega3 = 0.542 [0.207, 1.418] g/100g; Selenium = 78.6 [34.3, 193.3] μg/100g; VitaminA = 37.6 [13.9, 92.5] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.5 [1.0, 2.1] mg/100g (wet weight);
