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Phractura fasciata Boulenger, 1920

Image contributors to this species:

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

Similar looking to P. bovei except that the dorsal and anal fins have one ray fewer. These catfish commonly known as 'African Whiptails' tends to ratify the theory that the two great continents of the America's and Africa where at one time, one great mass of land as they look on first glance to be superficially like South American Whiptails, such as from the Rineloricaria/Hemiloricaria genus. Habitat: These catfish inhabit fast flowing waters and spend a lot of their time clinging to aquatic leaves and if you provide long stemmed plants, such as Vallisneria for instance, you will see this habit. Aquarium Care: To keep this species and other members of this African hillstream family you will have to provide a well oxygenated planted aquarium and keep up your water changes as they are not as hardy as the South American equivalents. Etymology: The specific name fasciata: meaning banded. Remarks: The species shown was captured by the image contributor in the Wagenia rapids, Kisangani, Province Orientale, D.R. Congo.

Common Name:

None

Synonyms:

None

Family:

Amphiliidae

Distribution:

Africa: Stanley Falls (=Wagenia Falls) in Democratic Republic of the Congo; possibly also in the Niari basin in Republic of Congo. Type locality: Stanley-Falls.

Size:

11.0.cm (4¼ins)

Temp:

20-24°c (67-75°f)

p.H.

6.5-7.2.

Reference:

Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2016. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, ( 06/2016 ).
Seegers, Lothar; The Catfishes of Africa. A handbook for identification and maintenance. Tetra Verlag GmbH. 604p.

Family: Amphiliidae Back to Ident-A-Cat Click on Thumbnails

Phractura fasciata
Wagenia rapids, Kisangani, Province Orientale, D.R. Congo

Phractura fasciata
Dorsal view. Wagenia rapids, Kisangani, Province Orientale, D.R. Congo

Phractura fasciata
Ventral view. Wagenia rapids, Kisangani, Province Orientale, D.R. Congo

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