''Hydrocynus tanzaniae'', the blue tigerfish, is a large
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n predatory freshwater fish.
Distribution
The eastward flowing rivers of
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
and in the
Ruaha and
Rufiji Rufiji may refer to:
* Rufiji Delta, a region in Tanzania
* Rufiji District, in the Pwani Region of Tanzania
* Rufiji River
The Rufiji River lies entirely within Tanzania. It is also the largest and longest river in the country. The river is fo ...
river systems.
[http://biostor.org/reference/32 page 201]
Description
''Hydrocynus tanzaniae'' is a large, predatory fish. It has pronounced dentition similar to those found in ''
Hydrocynus forskahlii
''Hydrocynus forskahlii'', the elongate tigerfish, is a species of predatory characin from the family Alestidae which is found in northern and western Africa.
Description
''Hydrocynus forskahlii'' has pronounced stripes along the length of the bo ...
''.
[ The holotype was nine and a half inches long (247mm),][ but specimens have been caught by fishermen greater than 27 inches (70 cm) and 25 pounds (11 kg).][http://biostor.org/reference/32 page 199] These fish are a silvery grey color[ and often have pronounced stripes.][ They often have markings in blue, black, pink, green and red,][ making them among the more colorful of African tiger fish. Uniquely among the African tiger fish, they have a blue ]adipose fin
Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as s ...
[ (other species have a black adipose fin).
]
References
External links
* https://web.archive.org/web/20110131125634/http://www.eversostrange.com/2011/01/27/goliath-tigerfish/
* https://web.archive.org/web/20101206040928/http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/explorer/3826/Overview
*
Mystical goliath tiger fish caught on camera
". 21 October 2010.
Alestidae
Freshwater fish of Tanzania
Endemic fauna of Tanzania
Taxa named by Bernice Brewster
Fish described in 1986
{{Characiformes-stub