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FACTSHEETS: October 2022 - no. 316

Doumea typica Sauvage, 1879

he Doumea genus belongs to the Doumeinae subfamily with D. typica being the type species with the holotype being collected in the Doumé Falls, Gabon. At the moment (2022) there are nine described species including our factsheet of the month, D.angolensis Boulenger, 1906, D. chappuisi Pellegrin, 1933, D. gracila Skelton, 2007, D. reidi Ferraris, Skelton & Vari, 2010, D. sanaga Skelton, 2007, D. skeltoni Ferraris & Vari, 2014, D. stilicauda Ferraris, Skelton & Vari, 2010, and D. thysi Skelton, 1989. A few of these species can be told apart from the length and proportion of the caudal peduncle. All of these species are not very well known in the hobby.


Doumea typica

Doumea typica


These catfish are slim and elongated and possess bony projections (plates) that radiate from the vertabrae reaching all the way to the skin. The projections expand over the skins surface, forming a shield that in some species covers much of the body. They lack a swimbladder so they tend to avoid open waters.

 

Doumea typica - dorsal view

Doumea typica - dorsal view

 

A Lower Guinea endemic, known from Gabon and Congo in the Biguilé River to the Louémé River, widespread in the Ogowe basin. Coastal and other eastern rivers from Cameroon to Congo.

 



Distrbution: Congo River basin and coastal rivers from Cameroon to Congo. Type locality: Doumé (rivière Ogôoué).

 

Doumea typica has most recently been assessed for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2009 and is listed as Least Concern. The preferred habitat of this genera are the upper courses of the rivers as they are rheophilic (an organism that prefers to live in fast moving water).

Common Name

None

Synonyms

None

Family

Amphiliidae

Subfamily

Doumeinae

Distribution

Africa: Congo River basin and coastal rivers from Cameroon to Congo. Type locality: Doumé (rivière Ogôoué).

Size

13.0.cm (5¼ins)

Temp.

-

p.H.

-

Characteristics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. Diagnosis: gap between supraoccipital process and nuchal shield narrow, not greater than width of supraoccipital process; postorbit 40-50% snout length; caudal peduncle long (3-3.9 times in SL), slender (length 14.3 times depth) and depressed.

Colouration

Brownish above and whitish to yellowish below. A light line marking the lateral line runs through from the operculum to the caudal peduncle. Six pairs of light brown saddle patches adorn the back, first behind head, pre and post dorsal base, pre and post adipose base and at caudal fin base.

Aquarium Care & Compatibility

Not a well known species and genera but good aquarium husbandry with regular water changes and good oxygen flow should suffice.

Reproduction

Not reported.

Sexual differences

Not recorded.

Diet

Classed as "Epibenthic" which would entail these catfish grazing in flowing water. Mosquito larvae, tablet foods and any foods which would lie on the top of the substrate should be the feeding norm for these catfish.

Glossary of Terms

Anal fin: The median, unpaired, ventrally located fin that lies behind the anus, usually on the posterior half of the fish.
Caudal peduncle
: The narrow part of a fish's body to which the caudal or tail fin is attached.
Dorsal fin: The primary rayed fin(s) on top of the body.
Epibenthic: Refers to organisms that live on or just above the bottom sediments in a body of water. These organisms, many of which support commercial and recreational fisheries, tend to forage on the creatures that live in or on the sediments.
Nuchal shield
: Area between the skull and dorsal fin.
Swimbladder: The air sac that gives fish buoyancy and balance. Acts as sound resonator in some fish.
Supraoccipital process: Unpaired bone at the back of the skull, usually with a crest.

Etymology

Doumea: From Doumé, a locality in Congo (Africa).

References

Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2011. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version.
Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 1991. Catfish in the Aquarium. An introduction to Catfish Keeping and the Diversity of Catfish Forms and Behavior. Tetra Press.
Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
M.L.J. Stiassny, G.G. Teugels and C.D. Hopkins (eds.) The fresh and brackish water fishes of Lower Guinea, West-Central Africa. Volume I. Collection Faune et Flore tropicales 42. Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Paris, France, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France, and Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgium. 800 pp.
Moelants, T. 2010. Doumea typica. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010
Seegers, L., 2008. The catfishes of Africa: A handbook for identification and maintenance. Aqualog Verlag A.C.S. GmbH, Germany. 604 p.
Skelton, P.H. and G.G. Teugels, 1986. Amphiliidae. p. 54-65. In J. Daget, J.-P. Gosse and D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde (eds.) Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA). ISNB, Brussels; MRAC, Tervuren; and ORSTOM, Paris. Vol. 2.

Photo Credits

© Joe Cutler @ Ogooue Megatransect 
Map: Bourrichon - Wikimedia Commons.

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ScotCat Sources

Etymology = Genus Etymology-genera

 

Other Sources

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