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Chiloglanis somereni Whitehead, 1958

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This genus is the African equivalent of the sucker mouth catfishes of South America and has a sucking disc that helps them to cling on to rocks in fast flowing rivers. Not an easy genus to identify to species. Habitat: Prefers fast-flowing upper reaches of rivers with rocks and small boulders. Also found in residual pools. Reproduction: Oviparous. Probably spawns more than once per year. Aquarium Care: Good oxygenated water from a power filter. Sand or gravel substrate with smooth rocks or pebbles. Their dorsal and pectoral fins are sharp and can cause wounds if not handled carefully. Sexual Differences: Usually in the form of a different shaped caudal fin. Diet: Mouth and dentition suggest that it is a bottom feeder and algal grazer. In the aquarium feed algae, fly larvae foods, bloodworm, and flake food. Etymology: The specific name somereni: In honour of Vernon Donald van Someren (1915–1962), zoologist and Senior Research Officer, Ministry of Forest Development, Game and Fisheries, Nairobi, Kenya, where Whitehead was affiliated at the time.

Common Name:

Someren's Suckermouth

Synonyms:

None

Family:

Mochokidae

Distribution:

Africa: Westward flowing Kenya rivers affluent to Lake Victoria. Type locality: Waroya River, Nyanza Province, Kenya; at 34º30'E, 0º10'N.

Size:

10.0cm. (4ins)

Temp:

20-24°C (67-75°F)

p.H.

6.5-7.2.

IUCN Red List

Chiloglanis somereni is known from the eastern Lake Victoria affluents in Tanzania and Kenya, and from the Malagarazi River basin in Tanzania. No major, widespread threats have been identified. The Someren's Suckermouth is therefore listed as Least Concern (IUCN 2016).

Reference:

Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
FishBase team RMCA & Geelhand, D. 2016. Chiloglanis somereni. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2009. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version (09/2009).
Sands, David: Catfishes of the World Volume 2 Mochokidae.Dunure Publications 1983.
Schmidt, R.C., H.L. Bart Jr. and W.D. Nyingi, 2015. Two new species of African suckermouth catfishes, genus Chiloglanis (Siluriformes: Mochokidae), from Kenya with remarks on other taxa from the area. Zootaxa 4044(1):45-64.
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.

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

Chiloglanis somereni

Chiloglanis somereni
Mouth view

Chiloglanis somereni

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