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Hippocampus Bildarchiv (1)

First described by British-Belgian zoologist George Albert Boulenger in 1901, from specimens collected in the White Nile, at the mouth of Lake No in South Sudan. Can be confused with the similar looking S. sorex from the same location. Description: Like all members of the genus Synodontis, S. caudovittatus has a strong, bony head capsule that extends back as far as the first spine of the dorsal fin. The head contains a distinct narrow, bony, external protrusion called a humeral process. The shape and size of the humeral process helps to identify the species. In S. caudovittatus, the humeral process is flat, routh, a little longer than it is broad, and ends in a sharp point. The front edges of the dorsal fins and the pectoral fins of Synodontis species are hardened into stiff spines. In S. caudovittatus, the spine of the dorsal fin is slightly curved, long, about as long or a little shorter than the head, smooth or finely serrated in the front and serrated on the back. The remaining portion of the dorsal fin is made up of seven branching rays. The spine of the pectoral fin about as long as the dorsal fin spine, and serrated on both sides and the adipose fin is 3 to 4 times as long as it is deep. The anal fin contains four unbranched and eight branched rays. The tail, or caudal fin, is deeply forked, with the upper lobe being longer. All members of the genus Synodontis have a structure called a premaxillary toothpad, which is located on the very front of the upper jaw of the mouth. This structure contains several rows of short, chisel-shaped teeth. In S. caudovittatus, the toothpad forms a short and broad band. On the lower jaw, or mandible, the teeth of Synodontis are attached to flexible, stalk-like structures and described as "s-shaped" or "hooked". The number of teeth on the mandible is used to differentiate between species; in S. caudovittatus, there are 33 to 38 teeth on the mandible. Colouration: The body colour is grey, tinged with olive on the head and back. The fins are dark, except the spines and their filaments which are whitish. The caudal fin is greyish white, with a deep black band along each lobe and the barbels are white. Diet: Feeds on algae, macrophytes, detritus, crustaceans, insects and mollusks.The growth rate is rapid in the first year, then slows down as the fish age.

White-finned Synodontis

Synodontis caudovittata

Mochokidae

Africa: Sudan, Nile basin. Type locality: Mouth of Lake No, White Nile.

20.0cm. (8ins)

21-24°C (69-75°F)

6.5-7.5.

Boulenger, George Albert (1909). Catalogue of the fresh-water fishes of Africa in the British museum (Natural history). London: British Museum. pp. 397–398.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2021. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, ( 06/2021 ).
Poll, M., 1971. Révision des Synodontis africains (famille Mochocidae). Ann. Mus. R. Afr. Centr., Sci. Zool., 191:1-497.