Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) >
Siluriformes (Catfish) >
Mochokidae (Squeakers or upside-down catfishes)
Etymology: Synodontis: Greek, syn, symphysis = grown together + Greek, odous = teeth (Ref. 45335); punu: Named after the Punu people living in the Ngounié, the Nyanga (souther Gabon) and the Niari provinces (Republic of Congo), which is approximately the area where the species was collected. Collecting expeditions are always, somehow, the result of human col.
Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal. Tropical, preferred ?; 2°S - 3°S, 11°E - 12°E
Africa: known from the Nyanga River basin and the Niari (Kouilou) River basin in Republic of Congo, and from the Ngounié River (Ogooué River basin) in Gabon (Ref. 82554).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 5.5 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 82554)
Short description
Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal
spines
(total): 2;
Dorsal
soft rays
(total): 6-7;
Anal
spines: 3-4;
Anal
soft rays: 7 - 8. A small species of Synodontis; body, at base of pectoral fins broader than high; dorsal profile of snout steep sloping until about vertical through posterior margin of orbit where-upon profile of head more gentle; complete lateral line, curving slightly dorsally above level of humeral process, further posteriorly straight, gently declining towards middle of caudal-fin base; head large (Ref. 82554).
Synodontis punu is distinguished from its Lower Guinea congeners by the following unique combination of characters: posterior border of operculum with a single hypertrophied opercular spine in sexually mature males, and caudal fin with a pair of black patches, one on the upper and one on the lower lobe (vs. both characters absent in all other Lower Guinea species except S. acanthoperca) (Ref. 82554).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Vreven, E. and L. Milondo, 2009. Description of Synodontis punu, new species (Siluriformes: Mockokidae) from the Lower Guinea ichthyofaunal province (Gabon and Republic of Congo), Africa. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 20(2):97-104. (Ref. 82554)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
More information
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