SCOTCAT.COM  

Joe Cutler (2)

Description: Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 81-95; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 63 - 76; Vertebrae: 65 - 67. Diagnosis: head length 19.6-24.6% SL (Ref. 81644). Head pointed in dorsal outline; snout short; tooth plates small; eyes dorsally located; "dermosphenotic" and supraorbital bones joined in specimens over 80 mm SL. Frontal fontanella long and narrow ("knife-shaped"). Occipital process long and oval-shaped. Distance between occipital process and dorsal-fin base 4.3-10.5% SL (m = 8.1). Gill rakers long, slender and distantly set, 11-19 on 1st gill arch. Suprabranchial organ well developed. Pectoral spine serrated on both sides, strongly on posterior face, weakly on anterior face. 65-67 vertebrae. Habitat: Found in the River Sanaga in Cameroon. From there the distribution extends southwards and includes the Ogowe drainage in Gabon and the central Congo system in Congo (Seegers 1996). Colouration: Preserved specimens uniformly dark brown on back and sides, and yellowish-brown on belly. Vertical series of small white spots on flanks. Etymology: The specific name pachynema: pachys, thick; nema, thread, presumably referring to longer barbels compared to C. laeviceps. Remarks: The species is widespread without any major threats. Therefore, it is assessed as Least Concern (IUCN 2020).

Abugu

Clarias esamesae, Clarias oxycephalus

Clariidae

Western-central Africa: Coastal rivers of Cameroon and Gabon, to central Congo River system (Democratic Republic of Congo). Type locality: Ja River, southern Cameroon.

35.5cm. (14¼ins) TL.

23-28°c (73-83°f)

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. 2023. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version (10/2023).
Lalèyè, P. & Moelants, T. 2020. Clarias pachynema. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020.
Seegers, L. 2008 The catfishes of Africa. A handbook for identification and maintenance. Aqualog Verlag A.C.S. GmbH, Germany. 604 p.
Teugels, G.G., 2003. Clariidae. p. 144-173 In C. Lévêque, D. Paugy and G.G. Teugels (eds.) Faune des poissons d'eaux douce et saumâtres de l'Afrique de l'Ouest, Tome 2. Coll. Faune et Flore tropicales 40. Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgique, Museum National d'Histoire Naturalle, Paris, France and Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Paris, France. 815 p.
Teugels, G.G., 1986. A systematic revision of the African species of the genus Clarias (Pisces; Clariidae). Ann. Mus. R. Afr. Centr., Sci. Zool., 247:199 p.