Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Siluriformes (Catfish) > Bagridae (Bagrid catfishes)
Etymology: Bagrus: Mozarabic, bagre, taken from Greek, pagros = a fish (Dentex sp.) (Ref. 45335).

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Freshwater; demersal; potamodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range ? - 60 m (Ref. 43507). Tropical; 22°C - 28°C (Ref. 12468), preferred ?

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Africa: Nile River, Lake Chad, Niger and Senegal River, Lakes Mobutu (Lake Albert) and Turkana. Reported from Sanaga River basin (Ref. 27691).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m 41.2, range 29 - 34 cm
Max length : 112 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 43434); common length : 50.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 13851); max. published weight: 12.5 kg (Ref. 43434); max. reported age: 8 years (Ref. 51644)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 8-12; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 13 - 15; Vertebrae: 48 - 53. Diagnosis: body rather elongate, 5-6 times longer than deep (Ref. 7324, 57125); occipital process 4-6 times longer than broad (Ref. 57125). 9-11 branched dorsal-fin rays (Ref. 57125), the first prolonged into short filaments (Ref. 13851, 31256, 57125). Longest filament comprised 3-4 times in standard length (Ref. 7324, 57125). Predorsal length 2.4-2.6 times in standard length; head width 1.7-2.2 times in head length; width of premaxillary tooth plate 2.5-2.8 times in head length; caudal-fin lobes often prolonged into short filaments; upper caudal-fin lobe comprised 2-3 times in standard length (Ref. 57125).

Found in lakes, swamps and rivers (Ref. 31256). Avoids salt water (Ref. 31439). Spends nearly the whole of the daylight hours in crevices of rocks and is therefor seldom seen (Ref. 51850). Lives and feeds on or near the bottom (Ref. 3034). Adults exclusively piscivorous (Ref. 31256). Preys on small fish, particularly Alestes spp. (Ref. 13851), or Chrysichthys auratus as in Lake Kainji (Ref. 3034); also feeds on insects, crustaceans, mollusks, vegetable matter (Ref. 28714). Efficiency of catching prey catfish is maximised by face to face attack, avoiding damage by dorsal and pectoral spines of the prey (Ref. 33614). There is some indication that the species comes to shallower water to breed (Ref. 43507). Spawning season extends from April to July (Ref. 51850). Parents build and guard the nest, which is like a flat disc with a central hole where the eggs are dropped (Ref. 51638). Size of the nest and the central hole depend on the fish size (Ref. 51638). Males become up to 7 years old, females 8 years (Ref. 51644). Mean sizes and weight of males are less than those of females from the same age (Ref. 51644, Ref. 51645). An important food fish. Flesh is good eating and of economic importance (Ref. 36900), commonly sold as food (Ref. 43521). Reputed to reach 100,000 g.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Reproduction takes place during high water (Ref. 2756). There is some indication that the species comes to shallower water to breed (Ref. 43507). From 4 breeding fish taken, 3 were from inshore waters and 1 from 40m depth in the open water (Ref. 49805). The nest is a relatively large depression with the shape of a flat dish and proportions relative to the size of the fish (Ref. 51638). A single well formed hole of about 10-15cm in diameter and 10-15cm depth is present nearly in the middle (Ref. 51638). Eggs are laid inside this hole (Ref. 51638). Eggs are white, having a diameter of little more than 1 millimeter (Ref. 45962). Larvae stay in the hole a couple of days after hatching (Ref. 51638). They swim above the nest when disturbed and return to hole after disturbance has stopped (Ref. 51638).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Risch, L.M., 1986. Bagridae. p. 2-35. 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. (Ref. 3236)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Least Concern (LC)

CITES (Ref. 94142)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes

FAO(Aquaculture: production; ; publication : search) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration

Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development

Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance

References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Allele frequencies
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Mass conversion

Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Bagrus bajad (Forsskål, 1775)