Synodontis
petricola Matthes, 1959
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| |
| Image
contributors to this species: |
| Allan
James (1)
Graham Burnside (4) Danny Blundell (4) Hippocampus
Bildarchiv
(2) Frants Lehmann (1
Stamp) |
| ScotCat
Sources: |
 
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| Other
Sources: |
 
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| Relevant
Information: |
It is very
similar to the other popular Syno from the same Lake, the
'Cuckoo Cat'., Synodontis
multipunctata
but petricola has white edgings to all its fins, especially
the leading ray to the dorsal, whereas Synodontis multpunctata
has the rear end of the dorsal fin, white only and has larger
eyes. The closest relation, in colour pattern anyway, is Synodontis
polli, but
the spots on its body are larger and tend to be more irregularly
rounded and it usually has a darker body colour and a longer snout.
The make-up of the teeth on these two species also tells them apart,
S. petricola: 31-32, S. polli: 36-43. You don't tend
to see S. polli ( not in the U.K. anyway ) very often, so
mistakes are few and far between. Another close relative is Synodontis
dhonti, Synodontis
dhonti, but
only the juveniles of this species have spots and not when adult. A
more recent noticeable similarity from the paper by Wright,
JJ and LM Page (2006) is the look-a-like
Synodontis
lucipinnis which grows smaller
has larger spots on the head and differs from S.petricola
by the absence of a pore beneath the humeral process which is present
in S.petricola. These two species can be difficult to tell
apart, especially as juveniles. |
| Common
Name: |
Pygmy
Catfish |
| Synonyms: |
Synodontis
multimaculatus |
| Family: |
Mochokidae
blycipitidae |
| Distribution: |
Africa:
Lake Tanganyika |
| Size:
|
11.5cm.
(4½ins) |
| Temp: |
22-25°C
(71-77°F) |
| p.H. |
7.5
-9.0. |
| Reference: |
Wright, JJ and
LM Page (2006) Taxonomic revision of Lake Taganyikan Synodontis
(Siluriformes: Mochokidae). Florida Mus. Nat. Hist. Bull. 46(4):99-154.
Seegers, Lothar; The Catfishes of Africa. A handbook
for identification and maintenance. Tetra Verlag GmbH. 604p.
ScotCat Factsheet no. 46. April 2000. |
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Family: Mochokidae
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| Click
on thumbnails |
 Synodontis
petricola
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 Synodontis
petricola
Young
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 Synodontis
petricola
Young feeding of sponge
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 Synodontis
petricola
Young on heater
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 Synodontis
petricola
Semi-adult
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 Synodontis
petricola
Eggs-1mm
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 Synodontis
petricola
Youngster 6-7 weeks
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 Synodontis
petricola
Youngster 6-7 weeks
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 Synodontis
petricola
Youngsters 6-7 weeks
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 Synodontis
petricola
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 Synodontis
petricola
|
 Synodontis
petricola
Stamp
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