| FishBase | Complete | Literature | Reference | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Species | Families | Species | Families | |||
| Marine | 457 | 138 | No | Quéro, J.-C., J.-C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.), 1990 | ||
| Freshwater | 108 | 27 | No | Daget, J., J.-P. Gosse and D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde, 1984 | ||
| Total | 563 | 162 | No | |||
| Conservation | The following information is to be sought: - Status of knowledge of the freshwater fauna; - Existence of conservation plans; - Information on major aquatic habitats or sites within the country; - Current major threats to species; - Future potential threats to species; - Contact(s) for further information. |
| Geography and Climate |
Togo consists essentially of two savanna plains separated by a chain of hills extending from the Atakora Massif in the northeast to the Ghana border in the southwest. The southern plain is cut by a system of coastal lagoons; the northern is traversed by the Oti River.
In the south the climate is tropical, with temperature ranging between 22° and 32°C. Humidity is relatively low for the West African coast and rainfall is moderate, being confined to two short season: one from March to June; the other in October. Rainfall declines as one proceeds northward and the north of the country is moderately dry. Although Togo has a rural population, there are extensive deposits of phosphate and limestone in the south which are mined. Ref. Vanden Bossche, J.-P. and G.M. Bernacsek, 1990 |
| Hydrography |
Lakes: there are no natural freshwater lakes of any size in Togo.
Rivers, floodplains and swamps: there are three main river basins in Togo. In the north the Oti River flows diagonally across the country for about 100 km before turning southward for 110 km to form the frontier with Ghana. The Mono River flows southward for 360 km, although part of its lower course is in Benin. In the south, three small coastal rivers form a third small basin. Total estimated length of rivers is 1,500 km (Aubray, 1977) (Ref. 12116); surface area: 40-260 sq. km. (Balarin, 1984d) (Ref. 12117).
There are several extensive floodplains along the rivers Oti, Mono, Sio and Haho, seasonally flooded.
Reservoirs: there are over 70 small reservoirs with a surface area of 150 ha (De Kimpe, 1982) (Ref. 12118).
The large Nangbeto hydroelectric dam project, planned on the Mono River, will create a reservoir with 1.7 cu. km. capacity.
Coastal lagoons: there are a series of lagoons in Togo centered around Togo Lagoon and extending to join the sea via the Mono. A smaller water body, the Lomè Lagoon, is now isolated from the main system. Ref. Vanden Bossche, J.-P. and G.M. Bernacsek, 1990 |