SCOTCAT.COM  

your internet guide to all things catfish
≡
  • HOME
  • FACTSHEETS
    • By Month/Year
    • By Family
    • by Genus
    • by Common Names
    • By Specific Names
    • By Continent
      • Index
      • Africa
      • Asia
      • Australasia
      • Europe
      • North America
      • South America
  • GALLERIES
    • Photo Gallery
    • Art Gallery
    • Movie Gallery
    • Stamps Gallery
  • FAMILIES
    • A-B
      • Ailiidae
      • Akysidae
      • Amblycipitidae
      • Amphiliidae
      • Anchariidae
      • Ariidae
      • Aspredinidae
      • Astroblepidae
      • Auchenipteridae
      • Austroglanididae
      • Bagridae
    • C-D
      • Callichthyidae
      • Cetopsidae
      • Chacidae
      • Clariidae
      • Claroteidae
      • Cranoglanididae
      • Diplomystidae
      • Doradidae
    • E-H
      • Erithistidae
      • Heptapteridae
      • Heteropneustidae
      • Horabagridae
    • I-M
      • Ictaluridae
      • Lacantuniidae
      • Loricariidae
      • Malapteruridae
      • Mochokidae
    • N-P
      • Nematogenyidae
      • Pangasiidae
      • Phreatobiidae
      • Pimelodidae
      • Plotosidae
      • Pseudopimelodidae
    • S-T
      • Schilbeidae
      • Scoloplacidae
      • Siluridae
      • Sisoridae
      • Trichomycteridae
  • ARTICLES
    • Index
    • Breeding
    • By Author
    • Cat-Articles
    • General
    • Numbered List
    • Ichthyology
    • Travel/Collecting
  • IDENT-A-CAT
  • RESOURCES
    • Citation
    • Etymology
    • Fishhouse
    • Glossary
    • Scientific Papers
    • ScotShop
  • SITE MAP
  • FB GROUP
  • HELP
    • Index
    • Catfish Anatomy
    • Convertors
    • FAQ
    • Ident-A-Cat
    • Water Chemistry

FACTSHEETS: May 2020 - no. 287

Synodontis nigromaculatus Boulenger, 1905


ve never forgotten the first time I viewed a documentary on the Okavango Delta in Botswana and the Hippos gliding through the papyrus grass channels. It was a fascinating program on this World Heritage Site and I often wondered what catfishes reside in this environment. So we have 20 species of catfish with 8 of them belonging to the Synodontis genera.

 

Synodontis nigromaculatus

Synodontis nigromaculatus

 

One of them is the Blackspotted squeaker Synodontis nigromaculatus, where its most southerly limit is the Okavango Delta. It can be found in the papyrus and reed fringes along river channels and around perennial lagoons. Its range is quite vast with the type locality being in northeastern Zambia over 1000km (650 miles) away. It can also be found in the southernmost end of Lake Tanganyika in Zambia.

 

Synodontis nigromaculatus = head view

Synodontis nigromaculatus - head view

In Lake Bangweula its main diet is chironomid larvae with also weeds and other vegetable matter taken so for feeding in captivity this is a good guide to its dietary needs. Below is an image of the Lake with vegetation being abundant in the swamps. Its feeding habits in the Okavango Delta are similar with their stomach contents also containing the larvae and eggs of the local Cichlid populations.

 

Swamps of Bangweulu lake, northeastern Zambia

 

 

Distrbution: Lake Bangwelo, Chobe River and the Okavango Delta in Botswana. Type Locality: Lake Bangwelo in Zambia.


S. nigromaculatus
is reported to be widely distributed and being possibly closely related to the ancestor of the Lake Tanganyika species flock (Seegers, Lothar Dr. 2008).

 

Common Name

Blackspotted squeaker

Synonyms

Synodontis zambezensis, S. melanostictus, S. colyeri.

Family

Mochokidae

Subfamily

Mochocinae

Distribution

Africa: Luapula System, Moero, Bangwelo, Lake Tanganyika, upper Kasai, upper Zambezi, Okovango, Cunene and Limpopo. Also present in the Zambian Congo. Type locality: Lake Bangwelo.

Size

25.0cm. (10ins)

Temp.

22-26°C (71-79°F)

p.H.

6.0-7.5.

Characteristics

D 1, 7; A iv-vi, 7-9. Body deep. Head bony with a triangular humeral process located behind the gill opening and pointing backwards. Mouth ventral, snout short, barbels long and slender, with maxillary barbels having filamentosus branches. Dorsal fin tall, dorsal and pectoral fins with a hardened, serrated spine, Caudal fin forked.

Colouration

Body yellowish/olive, with all fins covered in small black spots and sometimes forming vermiculate streaks.

Aquarium Care & Compatibility

Does not seem to be problomatic in its care. Good community catfish in a larger setup but as with all Syno's will need their own space, meaning their own bit of bogwood, PVC pipe or rockwork to reduce the territorial behaviour of this genus. Tankmates should be large enough not to become harassed by this species, such as small tetras.

Reproduction

In its natural habitat it breeds in the rainy summer and flood season and lays its green eggs on to plants where they are left to their own devices.

Sexual Differences

Not recorded

Diet

Will take most prepared aquarium foods such as frozen bloodworm, whiteworm, shrimp, prawns, tablet food, a good quality flake food, pellets and a bit of veggy food such as cucumber now and again. A wide varied diet will provide a healthy specimen for many years.

Glossary of Terms

Adipose fin: Fleshy finlike projection without rays, behind the rayed dorsal fin.
Anal fin: The median, unpaired, ventrally located fin that lies behind the anus, usually on the posterior half of the fish.
Caudal fin: The tail.
Dorsal fin: The primary rayed fin(s) on top of the body.
Humeral process: Bony extension of the pectoral girdle.
Maxillary: Pertaining to the upper jaw (maxillary barbels).
Pectoral fins: The paired fins just behind the head.

Etymology

Synodontis: From the Greek syn, meaning together, and odontos, meaning tooth; in reference to the closely-spaced lower jaw teeth.
nigromaculatus: Black spots.

References

Bruton, M., Merron, G., Skelton, P., Fishes of the Okavango Delta & Chobe River, Botswana. Struik Nature, 2018.
Encyclopædia Britannica. Africa Map.
P. B. N. Jackson. The Fishes of Northern Rhodesia, A Checklist of Indigenous Species. 1961. The Government Printer, Lusaka. 140 p.
Poll, Max. 1971 Révision Des Synodontis Africains (Famille Mochocidae) [Revision of the African Genus Synodontis (Family Mochokidae). 523 p.
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. 1993 A complete guide to the freshwater fishes of southern Africa. Southern Book Publishers. 388 p.
www.britannica.com

Photo Credits

First & Second images: Author
Other images: www.britannica.com
Map: www.britannica.com.

Donate towards my web hosting bill!

If you would like to contribute to the monthly factsheets with an article, information or photos, please e-mail me. You will of course be credited for your work.

If you would like to donate any denomination of money to the site just click the above link button. All proceeds will go to running the site and hopefully to keep it going for a few years yet.

 

ScotCat Sources

Etymology = Genus Etymology-genera

Etymology = Species Etymology-specific name

 

Other Sources

Search  Search

FishBase Fishbase

Wikipedia Wikipedia

Catalog of Fishes Catalog of Fishes

Global Biodiversity Information Facility GBIF

FishNet2 Fishnet2

iNaturalist iNaturalist

  • Facebook about us + contact us + citation + translate + site map + scotshop + glossary + etymology +
  • help YouTube

©2023 SCOTCAT.COM