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Chrysichthys grandis Boulenger 1917

Image contributors to this species:

World Records Freshwater Fishing (1) Eccles, D.H. Field guide to the freshwater fishes of Tanzania (2)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

Description: Identified as having only two pairs of barbels a small adipose fin which is situated well back on the body and a small dorsal fin. Similar to the Chrysichthys genera but have either an absent or reduced humeral process unlike the Chrysichthys species which posses a prominent one (see remarks below). Aquarium Care: Grows too large for the normal aquarium and is usually offered as a food fish in the markets around Lake Tanganyika. It is never imported as an aquarium addition to the hobby. Habitat: Inhabits muddy bottoms with preference for depths 100 to 140m. Reproduction: Oviparous. Both male and female guard the eggs. Diet: Feeds mainly on fish. Etymology: The specific name grandis: Latin for large, referring to its size (described at 57 cm TL, one of the larger members of the genus, known to reach 63 cm and 4 kg). Remarks: Bathybagrus grandis is now considered a synonym of C. grandis. Some online searches will still appear as Bathybagrus grandis.

Common Name:

Kukumai

Synonyms:

Bathybagrus grandis

Family:

Claroteidae

Distribution:

Africa: Lake Tanganyika. Type locality: Kilewa Bay [Lake Tanganyika].

Size:

63.0cm. TL. (25¼ins-2ft. 1¼ins)

Temp:

20-25°C (67-77°F)

p.H.

7.5-8.5

Reference:

Eccles, D.H., 1992. FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Field guide to the freshwater fishes of Tanzania. Prepared and published with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (project URT/87/016). FAO, Rome. 145 p.
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. 2014. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, ( 11/2014 ).
Mo, T., 1991. Anatomy, relationships and systematics of the Bagridae (Teleostei: Siluroidei) with a hypothesis of siluroid phylogeny. Koeltz Scientific Books, Koenigstein, Theses Zoologicae 17. 216 p.
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.

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

Chrysichthys grandis
Captured by Mr. Samjee, courtesy of Kungwe Beach Lodge

Chrysichthys grandis
Line drawing

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