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Clarias salae Hubrecht, 1881

Image contributors to this species:

Russell Brian Tate (1)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

Description: Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 79-93; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 67 - 79; Vertebrae: 63 - 68. Typical extremely elongate, eel-shaped body (maximum body depth 8.7-13.9% of standard length); head length 20.2% SL (Ref. 57129). Head rather rectangular in dorsal outline; snout broadly rounded; eyes more dorsally located; frontal fontanelle intermediate between "knife-shaped" and "sole-shaped"; occipital fontanelle broadly oval-shaped; "dermosphenotic" and supraorbital bones are joined; tooth plates relatively small; premaxillary longer than vomerine. Distance between occipital process and dorsal-fin base relatively large (8.3-12.4% of standard length); dorsal and anal fins (67.7-75.0% and 50.6-58.9%, respectively, of standard length) very long and sometimes partially confluent with caudal fin. Pectoral spine serrated on both sides. Gill rakers long and distantly set. Habitat: Occurs in river systems which arise in mountainous areas and are entirely within the rain forest. Very little is known about the biology, but on basis of its distribution the species appears to be restricted to the rain forest. Colouration: fresh specimens dark brown on back; sides marked with irregular blackish spots, belly light brown to beige; a vertical bar may be present on caudal fin. Flanks with vertical rows of small white spots. Etymology: The specific name salae: In honour of Dutch sportsman and collector Carolus Franciscus Sala (1839–1881), who helped Swiss zoologist Johann Büttikofer (1850–1927) collect holotype.

Common Name:

None

Synonyms:

None

Family:

Clariidae

Distribution:

Africa: Konkoure system, Guinea, to the Cavally River, Côte d’Ivoire. Also reported from the Casamance (Senegal). Type locality: St. Paul’s River, Liberia.

Size:

50.0cm. TL. (20ins)

Temp:

23-28°C (73-83°F)

p.H.

6.5-8.0.

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. 2021. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version (07/2021).
Seegers, L., 2008. The catfishes of Africa: A handbook for identification and maintenance. Aqualog Verlag A.C.S. GmbH, Germany. 604 p.
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.
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.

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

Clarias salae
Little Scarcies River, Sierra Leone

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