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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.
Environnement : milieu / zone climatique / profondeur / gamme de distribution
Écologie
; eau douce démersal; potamodrome (Ref. 138143); profondeur 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.
Longueur à la première maturité / Taille / Poids / Âge
Maturité: Lm 13.1, range 15 - ? cm
Max length : 35.0 cm SL mâle / non sexé; (Ref. 57127); poids max. publié: 250.00 g (Ref. 3799); âge max. reporté: 7 années (Ref. 7248)
Épines dorsales (Total) : 1; Rayons mous dorsaux (Total) : 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).
Cycle de vie et comportement reproducteur
Maturité | Reproduction | Frai | Œufs | Fécondité | Larves
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)
Statut dans la liste rouge de l'IUCN (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2 (Global))
Menace pour l'homme
Harmless
Utilisations par l'homme
Pêcheries: commercial; pêche sportive: oui; Aquarium: Commercial
Outils
Articles particuliers
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Sources Internet
Estimations basées sur des modèles
Indice de diversité phylogénétique (Réf.
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).
Niveau trophique (Réf.
69278): 3.5 ±0.4 se; based on diet studies.
Résilience (Réf.
120179): Milieu, temps minimum de doublement de population : 1,4 à 4,4 années (K=0.09-0.94; tmax=6-7; assuming fec > 10,000).
Vulnérabilité de la pêche (Ref.
59153): Moderate vulnerability (40 of 100).
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Nutriments (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);
