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Megalechis picta (Müller & Troschel, 1849)
Spotted hoplo
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Pictures | Google image
Megalechis picta
Picture by Galvis, G./Mojica, J.I./Camargo, M.
Pictures | Google image
Picture by Galvis, G./Mojica, J.I./Camargo, M.
Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) > Siluriformes (Catfishes) > Callichthyidae (Callichthyid armored catfishes) > Callichthyinae
Etymology: Megalechis: Greek, megas, megalos = great + greek, echis, -eos = viper (Ref. 45335).
More on authors: Müller & Troschel.
Etymology: Megalechis: Greek, megas, megalos = great + greek, echis, -eos = viper (Ref. 45335).
More on authors: Müller & Troschel.
Issue
See Reis (1997) for phylogeny and Reis (1998) for detailed description.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology
Freshwater; demersal; pH range: 6.0 - 8.0; dH range: 5 - 19. Tropical; 18°C - 28°C (Ref. 1672)
Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri
South America: Amazon and Orinoco River basins, as well as coastal rivers of the Guianas and northern Brazil.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 17.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 121647); max. published weight: 350.00 g (Ref. 27188)
Max length : 17.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 121647); max. published weight: 350.00 g (Ref. 27188)
Obligate air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Ubiquitous (Ref. 35381). Occurs in ponds (Ref. 11229), swamps and flooded savanna. May also occur in inland creeks with strong current. When the swamps are drained during the dry season, they burrow in the mud at a depth of 15-25 cm and remain there until the first rains. They hide only at the bottom of the marshes which remain always a little muddy even during the dry season. Today, they are presently captured with the net. Previously, fishermen drained the marshes in order to unearth the fish which had hidden there (Ref. 27188). Omnivore (Ref. 26543). Intestinal breathing, complementary to branchial breathing, enables them to adapt to extreme hypoxic conditions which occur in their biotopes. For these reasons, the relevant intestinal zone has a more reduced mucus epithelium as well as an increased blood system. In the dry season when swamps get dry, they sink deeper into the muddy substrate down to a depth of 20 cm. This way, they live at a slower pace, often in groups, until the next rainy season. At the end of October, the fishermen dig them up because they are appreciated for their flesh. At other times, they are fished with nets (Ref. 35381).
Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Male builds nests in shallow swamps or swamp forests during the rainy season.
Main reference
Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Reis, Roberto E. | Collaborators
Reis, R.E., P.-Y. Le Bail and J.H.A. Mol, 2005. New arrangement in the synonymy of Megalechis Reis, 1997 (Siluriformes: Callichthyidae). Copeia 2005(3):678-682. (Ref. 57766)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 20 October 2020
CITES
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |
More information
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Tools
Bio-Quiz | E-book | Field guide | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree
| Catch-MSY |
Special reports
Download XML
Internet sources
AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD50 = 0.7500 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02455 (0.01236 - 0.04874), b=2.96 (2.78 - 3.14), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 3.0 ±0.0 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Low vulnerability (11 of 100).