Polypterus ornatipinnis, Ornate bichir : aquarium

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  Polypteridae
- - Classification -
- Polypteridae
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Polypterus ornatipinnis Boulenger, 1902

Ornate bichir

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Polypterus ornatipinnis
Picture by Moreau, J.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Cladistii (bichirs) > Polypteriformes (Bichirs) > Polypteridae (Bichirs)
Etymology: Polypterus: Greek, poly = a lot of + Greek, pteron = wing, fin (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Boulenger.

Issue
Type locality: Monsembe (Haut Congo).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; demersal. Tropical; 26°C - 28°C (Ref. 1672)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Africa: Congo River basin in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Ref. 3188, Angola (Ref. 3188, 120641) and Republic of Congo (Ref. 45477). Also reported from the Lake Rukwa drainage (Ref. 27292) and Lake Tanganyika basin (Ref. 4537, 36901, 54847).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 60.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3188)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 9 - 11; Anal spines: 14 - 15. Subcylindrical body (Ref. 27292, Ref. 36901). Upper and lower jaw of equal length (Ref. 36901, Ref. 42907). Number of dorsal finlets: 9-11 (Ref. 42908, Ref. 51884). Dorsal fin origin well behind pectoral fin (Ref. 4967, Ref. 42873). Ganoid scales (Ref. 27292, Ref. 42904): 58-65 lateral line scales, 38-44 scales around body, 22-27 predorsal scales (Ref. 2970, Ref. 11970, Ref. 42907, Ref. 42908). Dorsal side grey-brown colored, marbled with clear whitish spots (Ref. 11970), the belly is white to yellowish (Ref. 27292). Head finely reticulated (Ref. 42873, Ref. 42901). Fins with white spots alternating with dark spots, forming a continuous bar (Ref. 11970).

Facultative air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Inhabits calm waters of swamps and rivers (Ref. 11970). It feeds on worms and insect larvae when young, but takes larger food, mainly fish, when adult (Ref. 27292). It mainly hunts at night (Ref. 27292). In general they are more or less solitary fish and do not form schools (Ref. 27292).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Male starts with the courtship and is the active partner (Ref. 1672). The male makes from the anal fin a sort of cup and the female lays the eggs in this cup (Ref. 1672). The male then spreads the eggs so that they attach, e.g., to plants.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Gosse, J.-P., 1984. Polypteridae. p. 18-29. In J. Daget, J.-P. Gosse and D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde (eds.) Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA). Volume I. ORSTOM, Paris and MRAC, Tervuren. 410 p. (Ref. 3188)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)

Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 01 May 2009

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: public aquariums

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators

Ecology
Ecology

Population dynamics
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

Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos

Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith

Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)

Genetics
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability

Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.

Outreach
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Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Morphometrics
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References
References

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5002 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00457 (0.00197 - 0.01063), b=3.05 (2.85 - 3.25), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 3.7 ±0.60 se; based on food items.

Resilience (Ref. 120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec=200-300; tmax likely >= 20).

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Moderate vulnerability (44 of 100).

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