Synodontis batesii
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Synodontis batesii | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Mochokidae |
| Genus: | Synodontis |
| Species: | S. batesii |
| Binomial name | |
| Synodontis batesii Boulenger, 1907 | |
Synodontis batesii is a species of upside-down catfish native to rivers of Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.[1] It was first collected by G. L. Bates and described by Belgian-British zoologist George Albert Boulenger in 1907, based upon holotypes discovered in the Dja River, near Bitye in Cameroon.[1][2][3] The specific name "batesii" refers to the name of the collector of the first specimen.
The body of the fish is brown, blotched and marbled with darker browns.[2] It has three broad, dark vertical bands on the sides.[2] The fins are pale brown, or whitish, with black spots.[2]
Like other members of the genus, this fish has a humeral process, which is a bony spike that is attached to a hardened head cap on the fish and can be seen extending beyond the gill opening.[3] The first ray of the dorsal fin and the pectoral fins have a hardened first ray which is serrated.[3] The caudal fin is deeply forked.[3] It has short, cone-shaped teeth in the upper jaw.[3] In the lower jaw, the teeth are s-shaped and movable.[3] The fish has one pair of long maxillary barbels, extending to about the middle of the pectoral spine, and two pairs of mandibular barbels that are often branched.[2][3][4] The small adipose fin is small.[2]
This species grows to a length of 11.5 centimetres (4.5 in) SL although specimens up to 12.6 centimetres (5.0 in) TL have been recorded in the wild.[1][3]
