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Polypterus retropinnis Vaillant, 1899

West African bichir
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Polypterus retropinnis
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Congo (Brazzaville) country information

Common names: [No common name]
Occurrence: native
Salinity: freshwater
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: live export: yes;
Comments: Present in the middle Congo River basin; known from the rivers Alima (Ref. 1878, 1879, 42855, 46905, 46906, 56367, 88113) and Likouala (Ref. 46853, 56367) and from the Congo-Ubangui confluence (Ref. 44840, 56367). Type locality of the lectotype of Polypterus retropinnis: 'Diele de l'Alima' (Ref. 46906; lectotype by Ref. 56367). Also Ref. 42502.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/cf.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Schliewen, U.K. and F. Schäfer, 2006
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Classification / Names Nombres comunes | Sinónimos | Catalog of Fishes(Género, Especie) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

> Polypteriformes (Bichirs) > Polypteridae (Bichirs)
Etymology: Polypterus: Greek, poly = a lot of + Greek, pteron = wing, fin (Ref. 45335).
  More on author: Vaillant.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecología

; agua dulce demersal.   Tropical

Distribución Países | Áreas FAO | Ecosistemas | Ocurrencias, apariciones | Point map | Introducciones | Faunafri

Africa: Ogowe and Congo River basins in Central Africa (Ref. 3188, 56367, 81628). Reports from West Africa (Ref. 4537) refer to Polypterus retropinnis lowei, which is now a synonym of Polypterus palmas (Ref. 122071).

Tamaño / Peso / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 34.0 cm SL macho / no sexado; (Ref. 51884)

Short description Claves de identificación | Morfología | Morfometría

Espinas dorsales (total) : 7 - 9; Espinas anales: 12 - 15; Vértebra: 55 - 58. Diagnosis: Polypterus retropinnis is distinguished from all other species of Polypterus except P. mokelembembe, P. ornatipinnis, P. teugelsi, P. polli and P. palmas in having a high predorsal-scale count: 26-34 vs. 11-25 (Ref. 56367). It differs from P. ornatipinnis, P. teugelsi and P. polli in having 56-59 lateral-line scales vs. 61-65 in P. ornatipinnis and P. teugelsi and 52-55 in P. polli; from P. palmas by having a single large black blotch on the pectoral-fin base vs. numerous small spots on posterior part of base; and from P. mokelembembe by having a narrower first dorsal-fin spine being 4,6-6,1% of head length vs. 6,4-8,1%, a greater internostril distance being 14,3-18,0% of head length vs. 11,6-13,7%, and more pectoral-fin rays, 30-34 vs. 23-29 (Ref. 56367). Jaws mostly about the same length, the upper jaw sometimes a little longer than lower jaw; pectoral fin not reaching dorsal-fin origin (Ref. 43035, 46852). In addition, living specimens of Polypterus retropinnis differ from all congeners in their iris coloration, which consists of creamy white areas and black dots alternating with each other around the iris; however, this character state is rarely visible in preserved specimens (Ref. 56367).

Biología     Glosario (por ej. epibenthic)

Facultative air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Mostly found in little rivers, swamps and flooded zones (Ref. 4910, 41580, 46852). Carnivorous (Ref. 41580).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproducción | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larva

Main reference Upload your references | Referencias | Coordinador | Colaboradores

Britz, R., 2007. Polypteridae. p. 168-173. In M.L.J. Stiassny, G.G. Teugels and C.D. Hopkins (eds.) The fresh and brackish water fishes of Lower Guinea, West-Central Africa. Volume I. Collection Faune et Flore tropicales 42. Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Paris, France, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France, and Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgium. 800 pp. (Ref. 81628)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 07 June 2019

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless




Human uses

Pesquerías: sin interés
FAO(Publication : search) | FishSource |

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Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5002   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00457 (0.00195 - 0.01073), b=3.05 (2.85 - 3.25), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Nivel trófico (Ref. 69278):  2.6   ±0.26 se; based on food items.
Resiliencia (Ref. 120179):  Alto, población duplicada en un tiempo mínimo inferior a 15 meses (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low to moderate vulnerability (31 of 100).