Galeichthys
ater Castelnau, 1861
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Relevant Information: |
Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays:
19 - 22. This species is distinguished with the following
characters: short head, nearly as broad as long; blunt snout,
well-rounded in lateral profile and dorsally; palatal tooth
patches posterior to premaxillary tooth band meet at midline;
rounded caudal-fin lobes, of near equal length, fin not deeply
forked; short and thick caudal peduncle; underside of body
(both head and belly) covered with fine brown specks; anterior
gill-rakers on first arch 10-13 (5 + 5); pectoral fin rays
9-12; fatty growth along pectoral fin spines of breeding females
not present outside spawning season. Dimorphism present with
posterior (humeral) process of cleithrum obvious externally,
fan-shaped in females, triangular in males; smooth and shallow
dorsomedian cranial depression on exposed skull not reaching
supraoccipital process. As it's name suggests, the Black Seacatfish
is a dark coloured fish and can be any colour from a dark
brown to almost black. The tail of the Black Seacatfish is
not as forked as other Seacatfishes and is more round. The
colour underneath this fish is slightly lighter than the colour
on it's back, always dark. Often small speckles can be seen
on the underbelly of this fish. The Black Seacatfish can easily
be confused with the White Seacatfish ( G.
feliceps) if certain aspects
are overlooked when identifying this fish. The White Seacatfish
is duller in appearance, a lighter colour and can be dark
brown, but never black in the region. It has a light coloured
or white underbelly and often comes in big schools of fish.
This species is also frequently encountered in estuaries and
shallower water. Remarks: It is Said not
to be in rivers estuaries and shallow water, however we are
starting to disprove this, and it is our goal to prove this
100%.( Roocroft, Gareth: http://www.fishthesea.co.za/research/blackseacatfish.)
Known to be paternal mouthbrooders. |
Common
Name: |
Black Sea Catfish |
Synonyms: |
None |
Family: |
Ariidaecipitidae |
Distribution: |
Africa: Marine;
reef-associated. Southeast Atlantic: South Africa and Namibia.
Type locality: es mers du Cap [South Africa] |
Size:
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45cm Total
Length. (18ins) |
Temp: |
Subtropical
34°S - 35°S |
p.H. |
- |
Reference: |
Froese, R. and D. Pauly.
Editors. 2011. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication.
www.fishbase.org, version
Kulongowski, C., 2010. Revision of the ariid
catfish genus Galeichthys Valenciennes (subfamily Galeichthyinae),
with description of a new species from South Africa and designation
of a neotype for G. ater Castelnau. Smithiania Bull. (12):9-23.
Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of catfishes,
recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue
of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
Seegers, L. 2008 The catfishes of Africa.
A handbook for identification and maintenance. Aqualog Verlag
A.C.S. GmbH, Germany. 604 p.
Roocroft, Gareth; http://www.fishthesea.co.za/research/blackseacatfish.htm
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