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Lake Leopold II
Lake Mai-Ndombe (french: Lac Mai-Ndombe) is a large freshwater lake in Mai-Ndombe province in western Democratic Republic of the Congo. The lake is within the Tumba-Ngiri-Maindombe area, the largest Wetland of International Importance recognized by the Ramsar Convention in the world. Location The lake drains to the south through the Fimi River into the Kwah and Congo Rivers. Known until 1972 as Lake Leopold II (''Lac Léopold II'') after Leopold II, King of the Belgians. ''Mai-Ndombe'' means "black water" in Kikongo. The lake is of irregular shape and ranges in depth from only 5 meters (mean) to 10 meters (maximum). Covering approximately 890 square miles (2,300 square km), it is known to double or triple in size during the rainy season. Its waters are oxygenated throughout their depth and the pH ranges from 4.2 to 5.5. Low, forested shores surround it with dense, humid equatorial rainforest prevailing to the north and a mosaic of forest and savanna to the south. Biodiversit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mai-Ndombe Province
Mai-Ndombe is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Mai-Ndombe, Kwango, and Kwilu provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Bandundu province. Mai-Ndombe was formed from the Plateaux and Mai-Ndombe districts. The town of Inongo was elevated to capital city of the new province. History Mai-Ndombe Province was a separate province from 1962 to 1966, prior the creation of Bandundu Province from the post-colonial political regions of Kwango, Kwilu, and Mai-Ndombe. Presidents (from 1965, governors) were: * 8 Sep 1962 - Dec 1963 Victor Kumoriko * 23 Sep 1963 - 11 Oct 1963 V. Bola (in rebellion) * Jan 1964 - Dec 1964 Gabriël Zangabie ** 1964 - 1965 ... *27 Jul 1965 - 25 Apr 1966 Daniël Mongiya A whaling vessel sank in the province in 2021, killing at least 60 people. Geography Currently, there are 8 territories in Mai-Ndombe province, which are: # Bolobo # Ino ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crocodile
Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to include all extant taxon, extant members of the order (biology), order Crocodilia, which includes the alligators and caimans (family Alligatoridae), the gharial and false gharial (family Gavialidae) among other extinct taxa. Although they appear similar, crocodiles, alligators and the gharial belong to separate biological family (biology), families. The gharial, with its narrow snout, is easier to distinguish, while Morphology (biology), morphological differences are more difficult to spot in crocodiles and alligators. The most obvious external differences are visible in the head, with crocodiles having narrower and longer heads, with a more V-shaped than a U-shaped snout compared to alligators and caimans. Another obvious trait is that the upp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chrysichthys
''Chrysichthys'' is a genus of claroteid catfishes native to Africa. Two fossil species are known. ''Chrysichthys macrotis'', Van Neer, 1994, is known from the Miocene-Pliocene of the Albertine Rift in Uganda and ''Chrysichthys mahengeensis'', Murray & Budney, 2003, is known from the Eocene of Mahenge, Tanzania. Species There are currently 42 recognized species in this genus: * ''Chrysichthys acsiorum'' Hardman, 2008 * ''Chrysichthys aluuensis'' Risch, 1985 * ''Chrysichthys ansorgii'' Boulenger, 1910 * ''Chrysichthys auratus'' ( É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1809) * ''Chrysichthys bocagii'' Boulenger, 1910 * ''Chrysichthys brachynema'' Boulenger, 1900 (Kibonde, salmontail catfish) * ''Chrysichthys brevibarbis'' ( Boulenger, 1899) * ''Chrysichthys cranchii'' (Leach, 1818) (Kokuni, Kamba) * ''Chrysichthys dageti'' Risch, 1992 * ''Chrysichthys delhezi'' Boulenger, 1899 * ''Chrysichthys dendrophorus'' (Poll, 1966) * '' Chrysichthys depressus'' Nichols & Griscom, 1917) * '' Chrysi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sexual Dichromatism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most animals and some plants. Differences may include secondary sex characteristics, size, weight, colour, markings, or behavioural or cognitive traits. These differences may be subtle or exaggerated and may be subjected to sexual selection and natural selection. The opposite of dimorphism is ''monomorphism'', which is when both biological sexes are phenotypically indistinguishable from each other. Overview Ornamentation and coloration Common and easily identified types of dimorphism consist of ornamentation and coloration, though not always apparent. A difference in coloration of sexes within a given species is called sexual dichromatism, which is commonly seen in many species of birds and reptiles. Sexual selection leads to the exaggerated dim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nanochromis Transvestitus
''Nanochromis transvestitus'' is a sexually dimorphic cichlid endemic to Lake Mai-Ndombe in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where they live at a depth of around . It feeds on small benthic invertebrates. This species reaches a length of SL. Unusually for cichlids, it is the female, not the male, that is the most colourful. The female has a vertical black and white banding on her anal and caudual fins, with a bright red abdomen. The male, by contrast, is grayish in colour. Like many cichlids, the male does, however, have longer anal and caudal fins. The fish are egg layers and make a nest in the substrate in which to lay their eggs. This species is particularly threatened by the practice of using mosquito netting to catch fish out of the lake as material with holes that small catches every species of fish in the lake regardless of size. The specific name is a derived from the Latin ''trans'' meaning "cross" or "over" and ''vestitus'' meaning "clothed", a reference ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cichlid
Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses ( Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have contradicted this grouping. The closest living relative of cichlids is probably the convict blenny, and both families are classified in the 5th edition of ''Fishes of the World'' as the two families in the Cichliformes, part of the subseries Ovalentaria. This family is both large and diverse. At least 1,650 species have been scientifically described, making it one of the largest vertebrate families. New species are discovered annually, and many species remain undescribed. The actual number of species is therefore unknown, with estimates varying between 2,000 and 3,000. Many cichlids, particularly tilapia, are important food fishes, while others, such as the ''Cichla'' species, are valued game fish. The family also includes many popular freshwater aquariu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphilius
''Amphilius'' is a genus of catfishes of the family Amphiliidae. ''Amphilius'' catfish have fairly lengthened bodies, with short, depressed, and broad heads. They have three pairs of fringed barbels. The eyes, small and located dorsally, are very distant from each other, and are without a free edge. The caudal fin is forked or emarginated. Unlike species of '' Paramphilius'', the snout is greater than half of the snout length, the adipose fin is not confluent with the caudal fin in adult specimens, and the anal fin has seven or fewer branched rays. Species There are currently 34 recognized species in this genus: * '' Amphilius atesuensis'' Boulenger, 1904 * '' Amphilius athiensis'' A. W. Thomson & Page, 2010 * '' Amphilius brevis'' Boulenger, 1902 * '' Amphilius caudosignatus'' P. H. Skelton, 2007 * '' Amphilius chalei'' Seegers, 2008 * '' Amphilius crassus'' A. W. Thomson & Hilber, 2015 * '' Amphilius cryptobullatus'' P. H. Skelton, 1986 * '' Amphilius dimonikensis'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catfish
Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia, the wels catfish of Eurasia, and the piraíba of South America, to detritivores (species that eat dead material on the bottom), and even to a tiny parasitic species commonly called the candiru, ''Vandellia cirrhosa''. Neither the armour-plated types nor the naked types have scales. Despite their name, not all catfish have prominent barbels or "whiskers". Members of the Siluriformes order are defined by features of the skull and swimbladder. Catfish are of considerable commercial importance; many of the larger species are farmed or fished for food. Many of the smaller species, particularly the genus ''Corydoras'', are important in the aquarium hobby. Many catfish are nocturnal, [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can be also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or in scientific literature as an ''endemite''. For example '' Cytisus aeolicus'' is an endemite of the Italian flora. '' Adzharia renschi'' was once believed to be an endemite of the Caucasus, but it was later discovered to be a non-indigenous species from South America belonging to a different genus. The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range. A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is "precinctive", which applies to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Albert Boulenger
George Albert Boulenger (19 October 1858 – 23 November 1937) was a Belgian-British zoologist who described and gave scientific names to over 2,000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Boulenger was also an active botanist during the last 30 years of his life, especially in the study of roses. Life Boulenger was born in Brussels, Belgium, the only son of Gustave Boulenger, a Belgian public notary, and Juliette Piérart, from Valenciennes. He graduated in 1876 from the Free University of Brussels with a degree in natural sciences, and worked for a while at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, as an assistant naturalist studying amphibians, reptiles, and fishes. He also made frequent visits during this time to the ''Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle'' in Paris and the British Museum in London. In 1880, he was invited to work at the Natural History Museum, then a department of the British Museum, by Dr. Albert C. L. G. Günther a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Tumba
Lake Tumba (or Ntomba) is a shallow lake in northwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the Bikoro Territory of the Province of Équateur. The lake covers about depending on the season, connected via the Irebu channel with the Congo River. Water may flow into or out of the lake through this channel depending on the floods. Lake Tumba has 114 species of fish and supports important fisheries. The lake lies at the center of the Tumba-Ngiri-Maindombe area, designated a Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention in 2008. Lake Tumba was explored in 1883 by Henry Morton Stanley. The swamp forest surrounding the lake is inhabited by the Mongo people, who in this area are divided into two castes: the ''Oto'', who farm, and the ''Twa'', Pygmies In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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