Synodontis njassae

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Family : Squeakers or upside-down catfishes ; Found among the rocks during the day and moves around the area at night. Feeds on insects, crustaceans and other invertebrates [1]. Oviparous (Ref. 205). Because of its bony head , this species is often not marketed in Malawi where it is relatively common and considered a favored food of fishermen. Marketed in Kyela[2].

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Habitat

Ecology: Mostly found among rocks and it hides in crevices during the daytime. It can also be found off sandy shores down to the limits of dissolved oxygen (as deep as 220 m ). It is reported to be more abundant in the northern part of the lake but is common throughout. It migrates up the larger ephemeral rivers to spawn when they are in spate . It is thought to breed in during October to December. During this time most individuals are caught over sandy and muddy bottoms in shallow water. It is not known whether this species breeds in the main lake. It is an omnivorous scavenger , mainly feeds on insects, crustaceans, molluscs , and other invertebrates . Few individuals less than 10 cm are caught from the offshore water. Average size at first maturity is estimated at 11 cm TL and by 14 cm TL. This species shows a distinct upwards, vertical movement that may be dependent upon the phase of the moon. It has been observed that on nights without moonlight this species is distributed equally between the surface and deep-water layers whereas on moonlit nights almost all individuals were caught in the surface waters.[3].

List of Habitats :

•     5     Wetlands (inland)   
  
•     5.5     Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)   
[more info]

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Synodontis zambesensis (Non Peters

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: Data last modified by FishBase 08-Aug-1994

Similar Species

Members of the genus Synodontis

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 56 species and subspecies in this genus:

S. afrofischeri (Fischer's Victoria Squeaker) · S. alberti (Bigeye Squeaker (FB)) · S. angelica (Spotted Upside-Down Catfish) · S. angelicus (Spotted Upside-Down Catfish) · S. batensoda (Upsidedown Catfish) · S. clarias (Squeaker) · S. contracta (Upsidedown Catfish) · S. contractus (Bugeye Squeaker (FB)) · S. decora (Barredtail Squeaker) · S. decorus (Barredtail Squeaker) · S. euptera (Featherfin Squeaker) · S. eupterus (Featherfin Squeaker) · S. filamentosa (Catfish) · S. filamentosus (Catfish) · S. flavitaeniata (Chocolatestriped Squeaker) · S. flavitaeniatus (Orangestriped Squeaker (FB)) · S. frontosa (Sudan Squeaker) · S. frontosus (Sudan Squeaker) · S. fuelleborni (Fuelleborn´s Squeaker) · S. gambiensis (Tsetsentor) · S. geledensis (Geledi Squeaker) · S. leopardina (Leopard Squeaker) · S. leopardinus (Leopard Squeaker) · S. macrostigma (Largespot Squeaker) · S. macrostoma (Largemouth Squeaker) · S. manni (Feather-Barbelled Squeaker) · S. melanostictus (Back-Swimming Congo Catfish) · S. membranacea (Catfish) · S. membranaceus (Catfish) · S. multipunctatus (African Catfish) · S. nebulosa (Clouded Squeaker) · S. nebulosus (Clouded Squeaker) · S. nigrita (Catfish) · S. nigriventris (Back-Swimming Congo Catfish) · S. nigromaculata (Blackspotted Squeaker) · S. nigromaculatus (Blackspotted Squeaker (FB)) · S. njassae (Malawi Spotted Catfish) · S. notata (Onespot Squeaker) · S. notatus (Onespot Squeaker (FB)) · S. ocellifer (Catfish) · S. petricola (Cuckoo Catfish) · S. pleurops (Congo Squeaker (FB)) · S. ricardoae (Ricardo´s Squeaker) · S. ruandae (Rwanda Ruandae) · S. rukwaensis (Lake Rukwa Squeaker) · S. schall (Catfish) · S. serpentis (Tana Squeaker) · S. serratus (Shield-Head Catfish) · S. thamalakanensis (Bubblebarb Squeaker) · S. vanderwaali (Finetooth Squeaker) · S. victoriae (Lake Victoria Squeaker) · S. woosnami (Upper Zambezi Squeaker) · S. xiphias (Brown Squeaker) · S. zambezensis (Brown Squeaker) · S. zanzibarica (East Coast Squeaker) · S. zanzibaricus (East Coast Squeaker)

More Info

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Further Reading

• Compagno, L.J.V. and V.H. Niem 1998 Squalidae. Dogfish sharks. p. 1213-1232. In K.E. Carpenter and V.H. Niem (eds.) FAO Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO, Rome.
• Eccles, D.H. (1992). FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Field guide to the freshwater fishes of Tanzania. FAO, Rome. 145 p.
• Gosse, J.-P. (1986). Mochokidae. p. 105-152. 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.
• IUCN. 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 04 May 2006.
• Ita, E.O (1984). Kainji (Nigeria). p. 43-103. In J.M. Kapetsky and T. Petr (eds.) Status of African reservoir fisheries. CIFA Tech. Pap. 10: 326 p.
• Jackson, P.B.N. 1961. Check-list of fishes of Nyasaland. Occasional Papers of the National Museums of Southern Rhodesia 3(25B): 535–621
• Konings, A. 1990. Konings's Book of Cichlids and All the Other Fishes of Lake Malawi. T.F.H. Publications, Inc., Neptune City New Jersey.
• Thompson, A.B., Allison, E.H. and Ngatunga, B.P. 1996. Distribution and breeding biology of offshore pelagic cyprinids and catfish in Lake Malawi/Nyasa. Environmental Biology of Fishes 47(1): 27–42
• Tweddle, D 1993. River fishes of Lake Malawi catchment area. Part 1: Fishes of intermittent drainages. Nyala 16(2): 55–72.
• Tweddle, D and Willoughby, N.G. 1977. Further notes on the fishes of Malawi’s game reserves. Nyala 3(2): 4–13.
• Tweddle, D. 1996. Fish survey of Nkhotakota wildlife reserve. A report to the Japanese International Cooperation Agency on behalf of the Wildlife Society of Malawi. In: JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology. Investigational report. No. 53.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 15, 2012.
• IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. . Downloaded on January 28, 2012.
• Kazembe, J., Magombo, Z. & Kaunda, E. 2006. Synodontis njassae. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloadedon 05February2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 02, 2008:

• FishBase: FishBase DiGIR Provider - Philippine Server
• Senckenberg: Collection Pisces

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 139577
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Fis-31367
• Fishbase Species ID: 5384
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 681642
• IUCN ID: 244810
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 126171

Footnotes

1. Konings, A. (1990). Ad Konings's book of cichlids and all the other fishes of Lake Malawi. T.F.H. Publications, Inc., Neptune City, N.J., 495 p. [back]
2. Eccles, D.H. (1992). FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Field guide to the freshwater fishes of Tanzania. FAO, Rome. 145 p. [back]
3. Kazembe, J., Magombo, Z. & Kaunda, E. 2006. Synodontis njassae. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 05 February 2012. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.